PAK vs NZ: Tom Latham smashes 24th Test fifty: Stats
New Zealand opener Tom Latham brought up his 24th Test half-century in the ongoing second game versus Pakistan. The southpaw tackled the Pakistan bowlers with precision and recorded his second fifty-plus score of the series. Latham, who batted with intent, ended up scoring 71 off 100 balls, a knock laced with nine boundaries. Here we look at Latham's stats in Tests.
Latham kick-starts 2023 in style
Latham recorded scores of 113 and 35* in the series opener, which ended in a draw. He carried on the same form and played another magnificent knock at Karachi's National Stadium. Batting first in the game, the Kiwis got off to a stellar start as Latham and Devon Conway added 134 runs for the opening wicket. The former fell to Naseem Shah.
A look at his Test numbers
Latham, who made his Test debut in 2014, now has 4,842 runs in the format at an average of 41.74. The 30-year-old featured in his 70th Test. The tally includes 13 centuries and the best score of 264*. Meanwhile, Latham owns the second-most runs as a NZ opener in Tests (4,778). Only John Wright (5,260) is ahead of him in this regard.
His record versus Pakistan
With 780 runs in 12 Tests, Latham is NZ's fourth-highest run-getter in Tests versus Pakistan. While he averages 39 in these games, the tally includes four fifties and three centuries. 137 reads his highest score.
Second century partnership versus Pakistan
Meanwhile, Conway and Latham became the second NZ pair to record two century partnerships for the opening wicket versus Pakistan in Tests. They joined Matthew Bell and Mark Richardson on the list. Notably, Latham and Conway added 183 runs for the opening wicket in the first Test. This was also the highest opening stand by a New Zealand pair in Tests on Pakistan soil.
