Harsh Thakor
First Class Star
- Joined
- Oct 1, 2012
- Runs
- 3,514
- Post of the Week
- 2
It was virtually Inzamam Ul Haq's miraculous intervention in the 1992 semi-final versus New Zeland that from the depths of despair ressurected Pakistan to the pinnacle of glory with one of the most exhilarating displays of batting ever witnessed.He simply turned the complexion of game reminiscent of a thunderstorm emerging in no mansland. It was this very character that Inzamam displayed throughout his carer surpassing any contemporary batsmen as a match-winners statistically,averaging 78+ in tests won ,with 17 of his 25 centuries ending up in wins.Morally Inzy averaged just above 50 ,including a triple century.For a sustained period of 6 years he averaged above 60 which was remarkable.Arguably no batsmen of his time was so adept against genuine pace or played it with such consummate ease.On his day Inzy was flamboyance personified and could be the ultimate man to ressurect a side from the grave.He lacked the technical correctness of Hanif Mohamad or the elegance of Zaheer Abbas or the determination of Javed Minadad but for pure prowess he may have even joined the Tendulkar's and Lara's.Inzy's batting had a characteristic languid style.His strokeplay blended the power of a motorboat to punish bowling with the craftsmanship of a weaver to dissect fields.He combined his razor sharp reflexes and footwork.He carried his bat like a lumberjack.Imran Khan ranked Inzy as the most talented batsmen of his time and best batsmen against pace.Inzy had the ability to take creativity in bating to metaphysical proportions.Above all he was a most un-selfish batsmen always putting the team's interest above his like when retiring before surpassing Javed Miandad's record aggregate of 8832 runs.
In Test cricket my most memorable moments of Inzamam werre his unbeaten 58 in 1994 at Karachi when he ressurected Pakistan from the grave to pull of a miracle in heroic last wicket stand ,his unbeaten 138 against Bangladesh in 2004 which again performed a Houdini act ,his century versus England in the 1st test on the home series in 2006 which won a test from a capricious position and his match-winning centuries at Bangalore in 2005 enabling Pakistan to square the series.It is hard to envisage any Pakistan batsmen ever or any batsmen of his era who displayed so much coolness in a crisis to turn games and instill so much confidence to team mates.Inzamam 's innings have secured important wins for Pakistan in West Indies ,England ,India and New Zealand in tests.Javed was more consistent in a crisis but could not equal Inzamam's ability to turn the complexion of games.Like Javed Miandad Inzamam was master in run chases in ODI's planning his innings with the precision of an architect and taking his side across the line with the flourish of a boxer.I would not be surprised that team mates or tail enders could be more inspired batting with Inzy than Sachin ,Lara or Ponting.He also proved his penchant for mammoth scores when scoring 329 versus Bangladesh.His batting posessed a subtle element of wristwork to complement his power.I would have loved to witness Inzamam face Lillee and Thomson at their fastest and the great West Indies pace quartet.Somehow I would have backed Inzy to tackle them even better than Sachin or Lara who were not at their best against the bouncing delivery.Inzamam's batting could generate or boost a morale in his team mates more than any batsmen of his time.
However he was not a fast runner between wickets which could often contribute to his down fall.He was also not at his best against Australia and South Africa ,the premier teams of his day,both at home and away.He amassed more of his run son home turf and overseas he was at his best in New Zealand and West Indies where he averaged around 60.He was also consistent in England averaging close to 50.Arguably no batsmen played Ambrose or Walsh with such remorseless ease which he proved with his big scores against West Indies,who even if a depleted side has great pacemen.At his best he was a revelation in South Africa when scoring 99 in 1994 playing Alan Donald like a spinner.Inzy often was troubled by the moving ball because of his cross bat technique and often be a leg before victim.
What goes against Inzamam was his inabilty to take Pakistan to the status of champion team in his era unlike Javed Miandad,Zaheer Abbas and Majid Khan.He was almost as good as Miandad away ,but Javed fared better bowling.Consistently he did not display the application of a Rahul Dravid,Tendulkar,Lara or Ponting and could often look aloof.I would bracket Inzamam with batsmen like David Gower,V.V.S.Laxman,Gundappa Vishwanath ,Mark Waugh or Kevin Pieterson who all had outstanding natural talent but fell out because of lack of sheer application.In his era VVS Laxman was closest to Inzamam.I would select Inzamam amongst my 100 best cricketers and 50 best batsmen of all time .Inzamam is in major contention for the title of the best Pakistani batsmen of all time but overall overshadowed just by a whisker by Javed Miandad or arguably Hanif Mohammad.His rank may be debated but in my book I would always award Inzamam the stature of a truly great batsmen and not just a very good one.
In Test cricket my most memorable moments of Inzamam werre his unbeaten 58 in 1994 at Karachi when he ressurected Pakistan from the grave to pull of a miracle in heroic last wicket stand ,his unbeaten 138 against Bangladesh in 2004 which again performed a Houdini act ,his century versus England in the 1st test on the home series in 2006 which won a test from a capricious position and his match-winning centuries at Bangalore in 2005 enabling Pakistan to square the series.It is hard to envisage any Pakistan batsmen ever or any batsmen of his era who displayed so much coolness in a crisis to turn games and instill so much confidence to team mates.Inzamam 's innings have secured important wins for Pakistan in West Indies ,England ,India and New Zealand in tests.Javed was more consistent in a crisis but could not equal Inzamam's ability to turn the complexion of games.Like Javed Miandad Inzamam was master in run chases in ODI's planning his innings with the precision of an architect and taking his side across the line with the flourish of a boxer.I would not be surprised that team mates or tail enders could be more inspired batting with Inzy than Sachin ,Lara or Ponting.He also proved his penchant for mammoth scores when scoring 329 versus Bangladesh.His batting posessed a subtle element of wristwork to complement his power.I would have loved to witness Inzamam face Lillee and Thomson at their fastest and the great West Indies pace quartet.Somehow I would have backed Inzy to tackle them even better than Sachin or Lara who were not at their best against the bouncing delivery.Inzamam's batting could generate or boost a morale in his team mates more than any batsmen of his time.
However he was not a fast runner between wickets which could often contribute to his down fall.He was also not at his best against Australia and South Africa ,the premier teams of his day,both at home and away.He amassed more of his run son home turf and overseas he was at his best in New Zealand and West Indies where he averaged around 60.He was also consistent in England averaging close to 50.Arguably no batsmen played Ambrose or Walsh with such remorseless ease which he proved with his big scores against West Indies,who even if a depleted side has great pacemen.At his best he was a revelation in South Africa when scoring 99 in 1994 playing Alan Donald like a spinner.Inzy often was troubled by the moving ball because of his cross bat technique and often be a leg before victim.
What goes against Inzamam was his inabilty to take Pakistan to the status of champion team in his era unlike Javed Miandad,Zaheer Abbas and Majid Khan.He was almost as good as Miandad away ,but Javed fared better bowling.Consistently he did not display the application of a Rahul Dravid,Tendulkar,Lara or Ponting and could often look aloof.I would bracket Inzamam with batsmen like David Gower,V.V.S.Laxman,Gundappa Vishwanath ,Mark Waugh or Kevin Pieterson who all had outstanding natural talent but fell out because of lack of sheer application.In his era VVS Laxman was closest to Inzamam.I would select Inzamam amongst my 100 best cricketers and 50 best batsmen of all time .Inzamam is in major contention for the title of the best Pakistani batsmen of all time but overall overshadowed just by a whisker by Javed Miandad or arguably Hanif Mohammad.His rank may be debated but in my book I would always award Inzamam the stature of a truly great batsmen and not just a very good one.
From Srinath to Kumar and Kumble to Ashwin. 
