Best Test innings by a Pakistani batsmen ever in Australia?

[Harsh Thakor]

From memory this is my selection of the best innings played in test matches by a pakistani batsmen in Australia.I have placed them in my tentative order of merit.



1.Asad Shafiq's 137 at Brisbane in 2016


2.Asif Iqbal's 152 n.o at Adelaide in 1976-77


3.Asif Iqbal's 120 at Sydney in 1976-77


4.Javed Miandad's 135 at Perth in 1978-79


5.Mohsin Khan's 149 at Adelaide in 1983-84


6.Azhar Ali's 205 at Melbourne in 2016


7.Ijaz Ahmed's century at Melbourne in 1989-90


8.Majid Khan's 158 at Melbourne in 1972


9.Inzamam Ul Haq's century in the 2nd test in 1999-2000.


10.Mohsin Khan's 152 at Melbourne in 1983-84


11.Asif Iqbal's 135 at Perth in 1978-79


12.Imran Khan's 136 at Adelaide in 1981-82

In run chases Asad Shafiq and Ijaz Ahmed were magnificient. Asad's knock was true epic close to puling of dramatic upset and amongst the best ever innings in a 4th innings run chase. For batting with the tail Asif Iqbal's unbeaten 152 was close to the top sharing a 120 run stand wit Iqbal Qasim for the ninth wicket .On a fast or bad wicket Javed Miandad's 135 at Perth was a true batting exhibition . Mohsin Khan also proved to be a great player against pace bowling in 1983-84 while at his best Majid was a class act. For turning the course of a game Asif Iqbal's 120 at Sydney was right at the top which won his team a historic 1st test victory on Australian soil.

 

[Junaids]

Wasim Akram's 125 with Imran Khan (136) at Adelaide (89-90).

Honourable mention for Salman Butt's 108 at Sydney on the first morning of the 2004-05 Test.

The bowling attack was:

Glenn McGrath
Jason Gillespie
Shane Watson
Shane Warne
Stuart Macgill.

........which is certainly the best attack that Pakistan has ever faced in its history.

 

[khurram39]

Against that bowling attack. Definitely a class act

 

[Pete Rose]

Wasim Akram's 125 with Imran Khan (136) at Adelaide (89-90).

Honourable mention for Salman Butt's 108 at Sydney on the first morning of the 2004-05 Test.

The bowling attack was:

Glenn McGrath
Jason Gillespie
Shane Watson
Shane Warne
Stuart Macgill.

........which is certainly the best attack that Pakistan has ever faced in its history.

I would argue that on that criteria Mohammad Yousuf's on boxing day was even better effort (salman scored 70 odd same innings)

 

[Rayyman]

Hopefully YK gets one in Aus.

 

[miandadrules]

I would argue that on that criteria Mohammad Yousuf's on boxing day was even better effort (salman scored 70 odd same innings)

Didn't YK get a 90 in the same innings?

 

[Pete Rose]

Didn't YK get a 90 in the same innings?

yes 87 odd. Yousuf though the context was: first match as captain, inzi pulled out last minute, and scored at a strike rate of 85-90, and he toyed with Warne smacking him around.

 

[miandadrules]

From the ones I remember it was that Imran-Wasim partnership. Not that I saw any of it but as a very young boy I remember following it and the manner in which they salvaged a draw from certain defeat.

I just checked the scorecard and Wasim even got a 50 in the first innings.

 

[miandadrules]

yes 87 odd. Yousuf though the context was: first match as captain, inzi pulled out last minute, and scored at a strike rate of 85-90, and he toyed with Warne smacking him around.

I remember the match. They had a big stand and then both threw their wickets away at the end of the day, which lead to an inevitable collapse and defeat.

 

[Pete Rose]

I remember the match. They had a big stand and then both threw their wickets away at the end of the day, which lead to an inevitable collapse and defeat.

Yes, Panickstan

 

[miandadrules]

Yes, Panickstan

The way Yousuf got out took a lot of lustre of that knock for me.

Stumped off a leg side full toss.

And then we surrendered completely in the 2nd innings.

 

[Pete Rose]

The way Yousuf got out took a lot of lustre of that knock for me.

Stumped off a leg side full toss.

And then we surrendered completely in the 2nd innings.

Story of Pakistan from 1999 to 2012

 

[KB]

I remember the match. They had a big stand and then both threw their wickets away at the end of the day, which lead to an inevitable collapse and defeat.

I also recall Razzaq's batting on day 2. One of the strangest innings I have seen. He went in complete shut down mode and barely looked to get a run. Handed Australia all the momentum early in the day.

 

[Pete Rose]

I also recall Razzaq's batting on day 2. One of the strangest innings I have seen. He went in complete shut down mode and barely looked to get a run. Handed Australia all the momentum early in the day.

5 runs off 70 balls...or perhaps it was 15

 

[KB]

7.Aamir Malik's century at Melbourne in 1989-90

I think you mean Ijaz Ahmed, who was the one who scored a century in the last innings in that Test.

 

[KB]

2.Asif Iqbal's 152 n.o at Brisbane in 1976-77

This was in fact at Adelaide and is certainly worth mentioning. He came in at 236-4 (a lead of 54) and Pakistan ended up scoring 466, with Iqbal finishing not out on 152. So he scored a very high percentage of the runs. When the ninth wicket fell the score was 379 and of the last 87 runs Iqbal Qasim managed to contribute just 4.

Certainly Asif Iqbal had an excellent reputation for being a very good runner between the wickets.

 

[shaz619]

The way Yousuf got out took a lot of lustre of that knock for me.

Stumped off a leg side full toss.

And then we surrendered completely in the 2nd innings.

Story of Pakistan from 1999 to 2012

It's great to have posters like these, it makes me appreciate the current team even more but as of late there has been too much criticism and a big chunk of it is not justified; no one tends to look back on our past conquests of Australia.

 

[miandadrules]

It's great to have posters like these, it makes me appreciate the current team even more but as of late there has been too much criticism and a big chunk of it is not justified; no one tends to look back on our past conquests of Australia.

One of the reasons I am never hypercritical of this test team and actually quite proud of them is because of having lived through the late 90's and early 2000s.

Posters here have some romanticised view of the late 90s team, but they were an atrocious test team. In the late 90's we barely won a test series at home. In fact under the old Wisden championship our home record was:

Series won: West Indies

Series Drawn: New Zealand

Series Lost: Australia, South Africa, Zimbabwe (yes we actually lost to them at home), and Sri Lanka.

We never played India at home and when we did we lost that too. England also beat us in 2000.

That test team was one of the weakest mentally that I can recall. Batsmen folded before a ball was bowled and crossing 400 was a rarity regardless of the pitch.

Yet, when you hear posters, it as if those players were all conquering mastodons compared to the current lot. The current lot may not have the flair or talent but they are certainly far more resilient and determined.

 

[miandadrules]

I also recall Razzaq's batting on day 2. One of the strangest innings I have seen. He went in complete shut down mode and barely looked to get a run. Handed Australia all the momentum early in the day.

I actually started thinking during the Yousuf and Younis partnership that we might be turning a corner.

I should have known better.

 

[Slog]

Yousufs MCG hundred is one of the best centuries by a Pakistani I've seen in my life

Still remember watching those straight sixes off Warne as a 14 year old.

Amazing!

 

[shaz619]

One of the reasons I am never hypercritical of this test team and actually quite proud of them is because of having lived through the late 90's and early 2000s.

Posters here have some romanticised view of the late 90s team, but they were an atrocious test team. In the late 90's we barely won a test series at home. In fact under the old Wisden championship our home record was:

Series won: West Indies

Series Drawn: New Zealand

Series Lost: Australia, South Africa, Zimbabwe (yes we actually lost to them at home), and Sri Lanka.

We never played India at home and when we did we lost that too. England also beat us in 2000.

That test team was one of the weakest mentally that I can recall. Batsmen folded before a ball was bowled and crossing 400 was a rarity regardless of the pitch.

Yet, when you hear posters, it as if those players were all conquering mastodons compared to the current lot. The current lot may not have the flair or talent but they are certainly far more resilient and determined.

It's the idea of those names wasn't it, box office superstars and the high stemming from the 92 WC win but that's where it would all end. Individually you got some world class performances here and there but as a team they performed very poorly. On a daily basis the current lot are not appreciated enough, they're not perfect but Misbah's Pakistan have done things which said ATG XI in the 90's could not. The 1st Test you'd never see such a fight back after how we folded in the 1st innings, heck that could have been avoided had we prepared better for the AUS tour as we did for ENG and here in the 2nd we've not really seen a proper contest due to the rain but had performed decently with the bat. Am grateful for the last 6 years or so, it is the first time I've ever witnessed a Pakistan Test side which is consistent.

 

[miandadrules]

It's the idea of those names wasn't it, box office superstars and the high stemming from the 92 WC win but that's where it would all end. Individually you got some world class performances here and there but as a team they performed very poorly. On a daily basis the current lot are not appreciated enough, they're not perfect but Misbah's Pakistan have done things which said ATG XI in the 90's could not. The 1st Test you'd never see such a fight back after how we folded in the 1st innings, heck that could have been avoided had we prepared better for the AUS tour as we did for ENG and here in the 2nd we've not really seen a proper contest due to the rain but had performed decently with the bat. Am grateful for the last 6 years or so, it is the first time I've ever witnessed a Pakistan Test side which is consistent.

Exactly!

 

[Harsh Thakor]

From the ones I remember it was that Imran-Wasim partnership. Not that I saw any of it but as a very young boy I remember following it and the manner in which they salvaged a draw from certain defeat.

I just checked the scorecard and Wasim even got a 50 in the first innings.

I included Imran .May be should have added Wasim's knock

 

[Harsh Thakor]

I would argue that on that criteria Mohammad Yousuf's on boxing day was even better effort (salman scored 70 odd same innings)

Very good choice.Maybe my mistake in excluding him .He wa son my mind but I considered the great bolwing faced by Mohsin and Majid or even Imran.