Inzamam-ul-Haq: Pakistan's quiet colossus to play his 100th Test

[Maranello]

Inzamam will be playing his 100th Test when he goes out to toss with Ganguly at Bangalore tomorrow (Thursday) morning. A great achievement, not only for the longevity, but also for reaching this milestone whilst at the top of his game. To my mind, Inzi is undoubtedly in the form of his life, and some of his innings, even the 86 against India in the first Test at Mohali, are real gems, the kind of knocks that none of the batsmen currently playing can manage now. But then he follows the masterpieces with some rather mediocre returns too... hence his low-ish average.

Excellent cricinfo article here:

The way he is, he shouldn't be a batsman. He shouldn't even be a sportsman. Where other batsmen stride to the crease, Inzamam-ul-Haq lopes and mopes to it, shoulders hunched. He drags his bat along with him like a scolded schoolboy would his satchel. Not for him the bravado entrance of a Mathew Hayden or a Virender Sehwag, chest out, brandishing the bat as weapon. Increasingly when he is dismissed, he loiters despondent for an eternity, not as protest but because of an acute awareness of its implications. Hayden and Sehwag can afford bluster; if they go, they have Ponting, Gilchrist, Sachin or Dravid. But if Inzamam falls, as John Wright's fist-pumping celebration at Kolkata in the second innings suggested, half the battle with Pakistan is often won.

As with all his best innings, Inzamam's 100th Test has crept up on us almost unnoticed. Only three Pakistanis – Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram and Salim Malik – have played in over 100 tests and it somehow seems right, bearing in mind the larger-than-life personality each possessed, that they achieved the landmark. With Inzamam, it sounds mildly implausible; 100 tests? Really? He will probably end up eclipsing Miandad as the greatest batsman Pakistan ever produced. How, given his inert demeanor, has he managed it?

[...]

Inzamam timeline: The tale of a giant.

[Zainub]

Great article that. Inzi is one of my most favorite people, and cricketers, I'm soo happy for him I'm going to bake a cake tomorrow celebrating his 100th cap.

[Maranello]

No doubt ZR, he has been our best batsman over the past 13 years, and arguably the most valuable contributor to the team. I really liked the description of Inzi below (it is an extract from an old cricinfo report by Amit Varma, written in March 2004 during the Pak-Ind series).

Looks like a mountain, scores like a river

It is rare for a current player to have a stand in a ground named after him, but Multan has no heroes more worthy of this honour than Inzamam-ul-Haq, so there he was, adding 160 polished runs with Hameed in the backdrop of the Inzamam-ul-Haq Stand (which could also be interpreted as an instruction to him during quick singles, perhaps?).

Inzamam's bulk seems to imply the solidity that one associates with him, but, of course, how big you are has nothing to do with how well you keep the ball out – bats, after all, are more or less the same size for all batsmen. Inzamam's technique is sturdier than most, and it is a pleasure to watch him bat. He is remarkably still at the crease, spots the length early as the ball leaves the bowler's hand, gets into position with a simple fluid movement, and is perfectly balanced at the split-second before his bat begins its downward arc, coming down on the ball, most often, not with the bludgeoning force one sees in highlights packages, but with smooth precision. He uses the bowler's pace to guide the ball into the gaps, and often ambles for runs instead of sprinting madly. Like so many great players, he often reaches 50 or 100 before one realises it – his opponents may not notice him scoring his runs, but they certainly feel the weight of them.

There are no unnecessary flourishes in Inzamam's play. One of the leitmotifs of his batting is the conservation of energy. From the moment the bowler begins his run-up to the moment bat hits ball, there is acute concentration, but the rest of the time, he seems almost somnolent. This shows in his running between wickets as well, as he clearly sees no point in running the first one hard when only one run seems possible. This is of a piece with the rhythm of his batting, though he has shown more urgency between the wickets in recent months, clearly adapting himself to the modern game. Regardless of that minor matter, though, he remains one of the modern masters – as he showed in his unhurried, untroubled innings today. He may look like a mountain, but he scores like a river.

[workkey]

my tributes to the great player also ..i have seen many of his knocks but i still remember his match winning innings in the semi final of the world cup 1992 ..scored 60 of 36 balls ..we were 128-4 chasing 263 when he came to the crease and then he and the great javed did it for pakistan.

[King Aragorn]

Many congratulations to our beloved Inzi!

He has been the backbone of our frail batting lineup for more than a decade now. Hopefully he'll see even greater success during the rest of his career.

[Nikhil]

He is one Pakistan player I respect. Perhaps the only one in this squad. He has the ability and the demeanour go with it. Great person and a superb player. Skillful and quiet, unlike many successful sportspersons.

Wish him luck for his 100th test. Hope he gets a century, but India win the match.

[Teatime FatCat]

Well, well guys - the boy has gone and done it with a timely ton! Congratulations to him - I wonder what he had for breakfast?

[Milo]

He truly is a giant for Pakistan, came along just when Javed was beginning to really suffer with his back and some levels of indiscipline (anyone remember his attempts to hit consecutive sixes in the West Indies in 93 in the last over before the close?). He is, along with the great batsman Courtney Walsh, the only player to be at the wicket twice in one wicket victories. It is difficult to decide which was the greater feat - his last wicket stand against Australia was fascinating, as was his single handed defeat of Bangladesh (certainly contirubed a bit more than Walsh did).

I remember watching the Pakistan tour to West Indies on Sky and noticed Inzi and Youhana were in at the crease very early in every test. Ambrose and Walsh had the better of the poor Pakistan openers (not much changed there then), and he scored a century in the opener when Pakistan were something like 30-5. Today, he's scored another century from a dire position, almost opening the batting. When he came to England he did the same thing, so I had a look to see how many of his centuries were in typical Graham Thorpe like manner. And here are the results.

1st: 123 (total 326) - coming in at 108-4 v WI 1992/3
3rd: 100* (357-9dec) - coming in at 158-5 v SL 1994/5
4th: 101 (231) - coming in at 83-4 v Zim 1994/5
5th: 148 (340) - coming in at 12-2 v Eng 1996
10th: 135 (288) - coming in at 12-2 v WI 1999/00
12th: 142 (405) - coming in at 42-2 v Eng 2000/01
13th: 130 (571-8dec) - coming in at 25-2 v NZ 2000/01
14th: 114 (403) - coming in at 39-2 v Eng 2001
16th: 329 (643) - coming in at 57-2 v NZ 2001/02
17th: 112 (369) - coming in at 25-2 v Zim 2002/03
18th: 138* (262-9) - coming in at 62-2 v Ban 2003/04 (I've included this one as he mainly achieved the run chase)
21st: 170* (-) - coming in at 7-2 v Ind 2004/05

Over half his tests match centuries have been from positions of pressure. A true great player who not only scores runs, but does so in such a sublime way.

[Shaka]

Inzimam isn't the thinking man's captain and if i am honest, he isn't my choice and never has been. What he does do though is command tremendous respect and loyalty from his team mates, and he leads from the front. Typical that on this occassion, with his team tottering at 7-2 he promoted himself ahead of Youhanna and took charge with a majestic 184 n.o.

As usual the big man lets his bat do the talking!

[Zainub]

If one ever wants to see an innings where a batsmen has been in total and utter control of the bowling right from ball one, Inzi's knock today was a perfect example. From the very moment he arived at the crease his form looked omnious.

I reckon this is going to be a real big one here. Common Inzi, bring back memories of Lahore