KARACHI: Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq, playing his penultimate international fixture before retiring, achieved two unprecedented landmarks during Tuesday’s third day of the ongoing second Test against the West Indies at the Kensington Oval.

The veteran right-hander becomes the first batsman in Test cricket to make three scores of 99 when he fell to his West Indian counterpart Jason Holder.

The Pakistan skipper, remarkably enough, is the only player this far to come tantalisingly close to missing a century by one run in successive Tests after being left high and dry at the same tally in the first innings of the series opener at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica last week. He is one of only six players in Test history to have returned undefeated on 99.

In the 140-year-old history of Test cricket, no less than 90 times the ‘unwanted’ 99 figure has emerged against the batsman’s name with Misbah now outright leader in this ‘unlucky’ group.

The seasoned campaigner, the ninth from Pakistan in this list, was first dismissed for 99, trapped by seamer Chris Martin, against New Zealand at the Basin Reserve, Wellington in January 2011.

Maqsood Ahmed was the first Pakistani to score 99 — a number he never surpassed in his brief 16-Test career like Asim Kamal did much later — when he was stumped on that figure versus India at Lahore in January 1955.

The next time the dreaded 99 struck Pakistan was not once but twice in the same Test innings when Majid Khan, who led the country in his only series, and Mushtaq Mohammad both got out, the latter to a run-out decision during match against England at the Niaz Stadium in Hyderabad in March 1973. Remarkably, the same match saw opener Dennis Amiss getting dismissed for 99 in England’s first innings!

Javed Miandad had the misfortune for falling one short of hundred when he was caught by substitute fielder Krishnammachari Srikkanth off paceman Madan Lal during first Test of the three-match series against India at Bangalore in September 1983.

Pakistan’s first series in England in 1987 was set up by Saleem Malik, who was out for 99 in the third Test victory at Headingley. Malik was again dismissed for 99 when he captained Pakistan versus South Africa in the one-off Test at Johannesburg in January 1995.

Aamir Sohail followed suit later that year in November when the left-handed opener fell to Glenn McGrath for 99 in the first Test at Brisbane when Australia sealed an innings victory.

Inzamam-ul-Haq was the next Pakistani to be a goner on 99 when he was trapped lbw by Chaminda Vaas in the final of the Asian Test Championship which Sri Lanka won at Lahore in March 2002.

Asim Kamal emulated Aamir Sohail by becoming the second left-hander from Pakistan to be a victim of 99 (bowled by Andre Nel) but his is the only one from this country to get this score on his Test debut, against South Africa at Lahore in October 2003.

List of Pakistan batsmen scoring 99 in Test cricket (In chronological order):

Maqsood Ahmed vs India at Lahore, 1954-55

Majid Khan vs England at Hyderabad, 1972-73

Mushtaq Mohammad vs England at Hyderabad, 1972-73

Javed Miandad vs India at Bangalore, 1983-84

Saleem Malik vs England at Headingley, 1987

Saleem Malik vs South Africa at Johannesburg, 1994-95

Aamir Sohail vs Australia at Brisbane, 1995-96

Inzamam-ul-Haq vs Sri Lanka at Lahore, 2001-02

Asim Kamal vs South Africa at Lahore, 2003-04

Misbah-ul-Haq vs New Zealand at Wellington, 2010-11

Misbah-ul-Haq vs *West Indies at Kingston, 2016-17

Misbah-ul-Haq vs West Indies at Bridgetown, 2016-17

• denotes unbeaten innings

Published in Dawn, May 4th, 2017