Inzamam's distinction (5 October 1998)

5 October 1998

Inzamam's distinction

M. Shoaib Ahmed

On October 1, 1998, Pakistan's Inzamam-ul-Haq completed his 3000 runs in Test cricket when he scored his 2nd run during his knock of 14 in the second innings of the first Test match at Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi.

He is 96th batsmen in the cricket history and 10th Pakistani after Javed Miandad, Saleem Malik, Zaheer Abbas, Mudassar Nazar, Majid Khan, Hanif Mohammad, Imran Khan, Mushtaq Mohammad and Asif Iqbal who have more than 5000 runs in Test cricket.

Inzamam took the cricketing world by storm with his exploits in the semi-final and the final of the 1992 World Cup in New Zealand and Australia. Pakistan required 123 runs in 15 overs at 8.2 in the semi-final with little hope of winning the match but Inzamam's 60 in 37 balls, which included seven fours and one six, changed all that when he shared an 87 runs fifth wicket stand with Javed Miandad. Pakistan won the match by four wickets. Another brilliant innings of 42 in the final against England at the MCG helped Pakistan almost as much. A right-handed batsman and a left-arm slow bowler, he had been a dominating figure as a batsman of class in domestic cricket.

His form in first-class cricket and in the one-day competitions at home earned him a Pakistani cap against West Indies in 1990-91, when he was included in the second one-day game at Lahore. He made 20 in the tied match but in the third game at Faisalabad hit a blistering 60.

Against the touring Sri Lankans in early 1992 he scored successive centuries in the fourth and fifth One-day International matches in his home town Multan and at Rawalpindi. His 101 at Multan had come in 121 in 117 in the final match in 104 balls with thirteen fours.

In Pakistan's first-class cricket, his best season was 1989-90, when he finished within the batting table with 1,645 runs at an average of 60.92.

He hit six centuries and as many fifties in twenty one matches. A man of gentle

manners and cultured ways he soon established himself in the Pakistan batting line-up and in 1994-95, on a largely disastrous tour of South Africa, he played with class and consistency which stamped him as one of the world's outstanding players. Prior to this season he had already played in more than 150 One-day International, scoring 5000 runs.

Source :: The Dawn (www.dawn.com)