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Following their heavy defeat in the first Test of the series, Pakistan employed large-scale changes for the second. They dropped their two senior pacers in Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi, and also dropped Babar Azam from the middle order. It was Babar’s omission that paved the way for Ghulam to come in, batting at four as an allrounder.
Ghulam came to the crease in the 10th over of the game after Shan Masood became the second Pakistan wicket to fall to Jack Leach in the morning session. Along with Saim Ayub, he saw Pakistan through to lunch on day one without further loss, having reached 29 off 56 balls by the break.
The duo continued after the break, and were faced with a tricky period of reverse swing against England’s seamers. Ghulam reached his 50 with a single off Shoaib Bashir off his 102nd ball at the crease. He shared a 149-run partnership with Ayub before the opener was caught by Ben Stokes off Matthew Potts’ bowling in the over before tea.
After the second interval, Ghulam motored on towards his hundred, having weathered the tricky period of batting. He and Mohammad Rizwan targeted Leach, Ghulam crossing into the 90s with two fours against Bashir in the same over. He quietened down as he neared three figures, happy to get over the line in singles, and finally brought up his century with a four through midwicket off Joe Root, taking 192 balls to do so. He eventually fell for 118.
Full list: Pakistan players with centuries on Test debut
| Player | Score | Opposition | Venue | Year |
| Khalid “Billy” Ibadulla | 166 | Australia | Karachi | 1964 |
| Javed Miandad | 163 | New Zealand | Lahore | 1976 |
| Saleem Malik | 100* | Sri Lanka | Karachi | 1982 |
| Mohammad Wasim | 109* | New Zealand | Lahore | 1996 |
| Ali Naqvi | 115 | South Africa | Rawalpindi | 1997 |
| Azhar Mahmood | 128* | South Africa | Rawalpindi | 1997 |
| Younis Khan | 107 | Sri Lanka | Multan | 2000 |
| Taufeeq Umar | 104 | Bangladesh | Multan | 2001 |
| Yasir Hameed | 170 and 105 | Bangladesh | Karachi | 2003 |
| Fawad Alam | 168 | Sri Lanka | Colombo | 2009 |
| Umar Akmal | 129 | New Zealand | Dunedin | 2009 |
| Abid Ali | 109* | Sri Lanka | Rawalpindi | 2019 |
| Kamran Ghulam | 118 | England | Multan | 2024 |
Ghulam is the 13th Pakistan player to score a century on Test debut, and the first to achieve the feat against England. The last to score a century on Test debut for Pakistan was Abid Ali against Sri Lanka in 2019.
Only one player has ever scored a century in both innings for Pakistan on Test debut, Yasir Hameed taking that honour in 2003. Hameed also has the highest score for a Pakistan Test debutant, with Ghulam needing to pass 170 in order to take that honour.
Ali Naqvi and Azhar Mahmood reached their maiden hundreds in their first Test outing in the same game, against South Africa in Rawalpindi in 1997. The first player to achieve the feat was “Billy” Ibadulla in 1964, while Ghulam is the 11th player to reach a century on debut for Pakistan at home.
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