Misbah-ul-Haq’s record had been sitting in the books in 12 years. Nobody had touched it. Nobody had seriously threatened it this record of Misbah. Then on September 24, 2026, a young batter from PTV walked out at Diamond Cricket Ground in Islamabad. Muhammad Shahzad’s 49-Ball Hundred quietly rewrote Pakistan first-class cricket history. And barely anyone outside the ground was watching.
The Record: 49 Balls to a Hundred
Muhammad Shahzad scored a century off 49 balls for Pakistan Television against Kingsmen Academy in the third round of the President’s Trophy Grade-I at Diamond Cricket Ground in Islamabad on September 24, 2026.
He scored 114 runs off 62 deliveries before being dismissed. The century was Shahzad’s sixth in first-class cricket. His 49-ball hundred also ranks among the eight fastest centuries in global first-class cricket.
Twelve fours. Eight sixes. A strike rate of 183.87 across the full innings. Those are the numbers that define one of the most extraordinary innings in Pakistan domestic cricket history.
What Record Did Shehzad Break
Misbah-ul-Haq previously held the record for the fastest first-class century by a Pakistan batter for a 56-ball effort against Australia in the second Test at Abu Dhabi in 2014. Misbah, at the time, levelled Viv Richards’ record for the fastest Test century.
That Misbah innings was one of the most celebrated batting performances in Pakistan cricket history. He hammered Australia’s bowling attack at a ground that had been his fortress across multiple series. The 56-ball century equalled a record that had stood since 1986. It became one of the defining images of Misbah’s late-career brilliance.
Hasan Ali sits third on the list after reaching a first-class hundred in 58 balls for Central Punjab against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2021.
Shahzad now leads that list. Seven balls faster than Misbah. Ahead of Hasan Ali by nine balls. The record is his.
Where This Record Sits in World History
This is not just a Pakistan record. It is a global one. The 49-ball effort also places him eighth on the all-time list of fastest first-class centuries in world cricket history, according to reports published on September 24, 2026.
Eighth fastest century in the entire history of first-class cricket. Against any team. In any country. In any era. That is the context that makes this innings remarkable beyond just the domestic Pakistani record. Shahzad is now in a list that includes some of the most famous batting performances in cricket history.
How the Of Shehzad Innings Unfolded
The match was the third-round opener of the President’s Trophy 2026-27 season. PTV were playing Kingsmen Academy at Diamond Cricket Ground. The Kingsmen Academy bowling attack had no answer for what Shahzad produced.
He accelerated immediately. His fifty came inside 25 balls. He was already scoring at a rate that suggested something historic was possible. The next 24 balls added the second fifty. His hundred arrived. He did not stop.
He continued past his century and eventually fell for 114 off 62 balls. The full innings contained 12 fours and eight sixes. He hit boundaries at a rate that suggests both technical quality and genuine power hitting combined throughout. This was not a slog. This was precise, controlled attacking batting that happened to be extraordinarily fast.
Who Is Muhammad Shahzad
Shahzad developed through the PCB’s age-group pathway, earning representative honours for Pakistan at both Under-16 and Under-19 level. His exposure to high-pressure youth cricket included participation in the Under-19 World Cup held in South Africa in early 2020, a tournament that gave him his first taste of global competition.
He subsequently progressed into franchise cricket, making his Pakistan Super League debut with Islamabad United during the 2025 edition of the competition, where he featured in six matches.
He also won the President’s Trophy 2024-25 final with PTV in extraordinary fashion. He took a hat-trick with figures of 5 for 29 on the first day and then scored an unbeaten 125 off 152 balls as PTV’s top scorer in the first innings. PTV won by three wickets and Shahzad was Player of the Match. He is a genuine allrounder whose batting has now broken national records and whose bowling has already delivered a domestic final hat-trick.
The President’s Trophy Context
The President’s Trophy Grade-I is Pakistan’s premier domestic first-class competition. It is the tournament the PCB has used this season to give senior Pakistan players red-ball match practice ahead of the home Test series against Sri Lanka starting November 9.
Shaheen Shah Afridi is playing for PTV. Haris Rauf is also in the tournament. Babar Azam requested a place in a team. The competition is loaded with talent at every level this season because the PCB mandated domestic cricket as a prerequisite for Test selection.
Shahzad’s record century in this context is not a fluke. He is performing at the highest level of Pakistani domestic cricket against opponents who include men who have played Test cricket.
The Misbah Connection: A Record Worth Respecting
The record Shahzad broke carried enormous historical significance. Misbah-ul-Haq’s 56-ball century was not just a statistical record. It was the moment when a 40-year-old Pakistan captain proved he could still compete with the fastest batters in the world.
That Abu Dhabi innings equalled Viv Richards’ record from 1986. It was Misbah’s defining statement in a career full of them. The record lasted 12 years. Shahzad has now replaced it. The tradition of Pakistani cricketers delivering extraordinary moments in domestic and international cricket across generations is one of the most compelling threads in the sport’s history, explored in our piece on the best cricket players in Pakistan cricket history.
What This Could Mean for Shehzad’s Pakistan Career
Shahzad is playing for PTV in the President’s Trophy. He is already a PSL player having debuted for Islamabad United in 2025. He comes through the PCB’s age-group system. His domestic record now includes a Player of the Match performance in a President’s Trophy final and the fastest first-class century by a Pakistani batter in history.
The selectors watching the President’s Trophy for Test squad decisions ahead of the Sri Lanka series have just seen a batter do something nobody in Pakistani cricket has ever done faster. Whether that translates into an international opportunity depends on how his form continues across the remaining rounds of the tournament.
But the name Muhammad Shahzad is now inside Pakistan’s record books permanently. The question of how Pakistani cricket identifies and elevates talent from the domestic system into the national team is explored in our piece on Pakistan cricket team captaincy past and future, where the development pathway from domestic cricket to international selection has always been central to how Pakistan builds its teams.
Conclusion
Muhammad Shahzad scored a century off 49 balls on September 24, 2026 at Diamond Cricket Ground in Islamabad. He broke Misbah-ul-Haq’s 12-year record for the fastest first-class century by a Pakistani batter. He went on to make 114 off 62 balls with 12 fours and eight sixes. His hundred is the eighth-fastest in the entire history of first-class cricket. He is 20 years old. He plays for PTV. He already has a President’s Trophy Player of the Match award from a final where he took a hat-trick and scored 125 not out. Pakistan cricket has found something special in the third round of a domestic tournament that most of the cricket world was not watching.
