Ijaz Ahmed turns 48 today and we look at his memorable ton against India

Legend has it that the axe was set to fall on the ‘axe man’ Ijaz Ahmed after the third and final ODI of the three-match series against India, organised to commemorate 50 years of Pakistan’s independence.

Majid Khan, the former national captain was part of the PCB officialdom and was bitterly aggrieved at Ijaz’s apparent on and off the field shenanigans.

After Pakistan restricted Tendulkar led India to a sub-par 216, Ijaz asked Majid and captain Anwar to give him one final chance of playing with a free and uncluttered mind at the top of the innings.

Anwar who was carrying a niggle, gave in to Ijaz’s demand. The ‘modern’ Pakistan batsman in these circumstances would try and see off the new ball, would try and hang in there and give the bowlers more respect than his ancestors.

He would hope to see off the early challenge and then chip away at the target provided he has managed to keep his wicket intact in the bargain.

After all for Pakistan batters opening the innings at least in the recent years has largely proven to be an improbable  equation, comparable to the most complicated mathematical algorithm.

But the hugely underrated Ijaz was a batsman well ahead of his times. The woodchopper like stance made him the butt of many jokes. But, to date, no Pakistan batsman has matched his exploits against tough opponents like Australia and South Africa. He was clearly the most neglected batsman of his generation.

Ijaz who had flayed India twice in the preceding Sahara Cup where Pakistan lost the series 1-4 started from where he had left in Toronto.

The Toronto performances were mere cameos, the Lahore effort was the final act, the act where the unfinished business had to be finished.

Ijaz was in the destruction mode, his bat was swinging from the hip and the Indian medium pacers and spinners were owned in an unadulterated batting assault, amid some ugly hoicks, Ijaz produced a series of dazzling lofted shots over the extra cover and mid-off curve.

Batting partner Mohammad Waseem who contributed 27 to a 139-run partnership tried to caution Ijaz after a couple of ugly swishes, his verbal exchange is a tale on its own.

“Chup chaap apne end pe khara reh, eik eik ko chun chun ke maroon ga” (Keep quiet and stay at your end, I will hit each and every bowler).

Ijaz, Waseem recalls, wasn’t content with the mauling his bat was delivering; he used his tongue to good result too.

“Ijaz didn’t spare the fielders and the wicket-keeper either after each big hit he would choose a certain fielder and churn out the most colourful and hilarious Punjabi expletives, that was total mayhem, I never saw a batsman sledge an entire team, the way Ijaz did that day.”

Such was the magnitude of the battering that the target was hunted down inside 27 overs, commentator Harsha Bhogle was totally rapt by the clean striking, “I wonder why they even bothered to place the boundary rope today.”

Pakistan’s run rate, once Ijaz was done lording Lahore, read 8.31 runs to the over. Other than the extremely rare Afridi assault at the top of the innings and the Abdul Razzaq stunner against the South Africans at Abu Dhabi, no Pakistan batter has matched Ijaz’s blitzkrieg especially with a sword hanging over his future.

There were a total of nine sixes and 10 fours in the innings. No Pakistan batsman had wiped out a bowling line-up with uninhibited aggression ever before. There aren’t many modern innings that come close to that night of carnage at Lahore, recorded 18 years ago.

Happy birthday Ijaz!

Here is Ijaz's Ahmed 139* vs India at Lahore in 1997