IN the last two columns I had been a bit critical of the national team, but, remember, it was in the One Day context. For now, I guess, it is time to stand up and salute Inzamamul Haq. What an innings he played at Lahore! Forget about the weakened half-strength opposition that we had in the shape of New Zealanders. Forget the home conditions. Forget the docile playing surface. Forget everything. A triple century is a huge achievement, totally regardless of anything around it. How else would you describe the fact that only fifteen batsmen have been able to cross the coveted mark in well over hundred years of Test cricket? It is that precious a commodity. And we all must share and enjoy the grandiosity of the achievement.
Ever since he burst on to the international scene way back during the 1992 World Cup, Inzamam has been taken seriously by all opponents. He has impressed pundits and gurus around the world with his rather lazy elegance. You hardly find him ruffled by anything that is thrown at him by the bowlers. He has a tremendous eye that helps him pick the line of the delivery much earlier than most batsmen you see on the global circuit. Add to it his footwork and the key element of hand-eye coordination, and you have a technically sound batsmen. Go a step further, and add to it all the devastating power that comes from his huge frame, and you get a wonderful destroyer of bowling attacks. And this is what Inzamam is. When he hits the ball, it stays hit. Period.
In the last few years, Inzamam has really represented the backbone of Pakistani batting lineup, which is a responsibility only the lion-hearted can take for it involves coming good almost everytime one goes out to bat. This is certainly not an easy thing to do in these days of constant cricket and the shifting of gears that it involves while shuffling between the two versions at the international level. But, to his entire credit, Inzamam has been up to the task.
He is a bit vulnerable in the initial stage of his innings, but, then, who is not? Talk about Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar or even Steven Waugh, who, in his prime form, is the real Mr Dependable of world cricket. They are all shaky as they take guard and measure up the pace of the playing surface. The difference between the front-runner and the average player is that once the opposition has failed to make an early inroad, he makes it pay for it, and exude authority as the butterflies in the stomach stop fluttering about.
It was only in the last few months that Inzamam was found underperforming by his own standards, and a few professional critics were just about getting ready to unleash their daggers. They, the critics, have a tendency to lap up every opportunity to make their presence felt and have a share of the media limelight, unmindful of the damage they inflict on the national game in doing so. But, to my great relief, Inzamam shut all such mouths with his superlative effort in Lahore. He was striking the ball nicely even before that innings. It was just a matter of inconsistent concentration. Once he overcame that problem, there was no stopping his brutal assault on the hapless Kiwis.
From a personal point of view, the score of 274 I had scored way back in 1971 is now finally out of the top three individual scores in Pakistan cricket. In fact, it was the second highest score at the time, behind Hanif Mohammad’s epic 337 against the West Indies, but then Javed Miandad got that unbeaten 280 against the Indians in the early 1980s. Inzamam has now pushed me out of the top three. Records, as we all know, are made only to be broken, and I hope and pray that Pakistani players in the future will come up with performances that will eclipse even this sterling effort by Inzamamul Haq. When that happens, it will only represent the progress of Pakistan cricket.
IN the last two columns I had been a bit critical of the national team, but, remember, it was in the One Day context. For now, I guess, it is time to stand up and salute Inzamamul Haq. What an innings he played at Lahore! Forget about the weakened half-strength opposition that we had in the shape of New Zealanders. Forget the home conditions. Forget the docile playing surface. Forget everything. A triple century is a huge achievement, totally regardless of anything around it. How else would you describe the fact that only fifteen batsmen have been able to cross the coveted mark in well over hundred years of Test cricket? It is that precious a commodity. And we all must share and enjoy the grandiosity of the achievement.
