Back to the future: Pakistan’s four ‘modern’ tons from the 90s

The Express Tribune relives four Pakistani innings that shook the world in the 90s

Mirroring the troubled phase that the country is enduring the, Pakistani batsmen donning the national colours have been through an almighty struggle in the last decade.

The enormity of their incompetence or rather sheer inability with the bat in the ODI format is now a stark reality. Out of the total 38 centuries posted in the 2015 World Cup, Pakistan’s contribution was one — Sarfraz Ahmed’s unbeaten ton against Ireland.

But were Pakistani batting stocks in ODI always so dry? The answer is no. For a substantial period in the 90s Pakistan possessed the most powerful batting order in world cricket.

The quartet of Saeed Anwar, Aamir Sohail, Inzamamul Haq and Ijaz Ahmed could shred bowling attacks and some of the best in the business were bullied by their bravado. The ODI format was undergoing massive changes in terms of strategies from various captains.

The law makers were also busy experimenting as the batsmen started to understand the realm of possibilities that presented themselves on the days they dominated.

Sharjah was a fortress of Pakistan. Each year at least two tournaments were held there, the industrial Emirate attracted thousands of expatriates—most gunning for Pakistan— while the new breed of batsmen still enjoy conditions there, the stalwarts of the 90s toyed with almost every attack that confronted them.

Pakistan also challenged the rest of the world with their free scoring game. While India reached the 300 mark for the first time in 1996, their arch-rivals had already posted a surfeit of 300 plus scores (six).

Sohail and Inzamam established the then world record for the biggest ODI partnership with a 263-run association during the 1994 Austral-Asia Cup at Sharjah.

The Express Tribune relives four Pakistani batsmen's innings that shook the world in the 90s; each of these performances left a telling impression on cricket fans. The hope is that the current and the emerging crop of Pakistan batters build a desire to emulate the heroics of yester years.

Basit Ali 127* vs West Indies, Sharjah 1993



Sir Curtly Ambrose, the West Indian fast bowling legend who bowled some spine chilling spells both with white and red ball in a glittering international career conceded more than six runs per over in a completed 10-over ODI spell just once.

The Antiguan donned the Caribbean whites and colours no less than 176 times in the ODI format but was never treated with the contemptuous belligerence that Basit Ali unfurled at Sharjah cricket stadium. The bowling giant conceded 64 runs with a solitary wicket — Ambrose being treated like the proverbial Joe Clubby. Basit was in that much touted about zone and was perhaps playing tape ball cricket in Karachi’s Lines Area (his neighbourhood).

The occasion was a Tri-series final; the Pakistan top-order was caged by a stifling opening spell from Ambrose, Courtney Walsh and Anderson Cummins.

Saeed Anwar fresh from an ODI record equalling three consecutive hundreds in the tournament had his stumps shattered by Cummins, Aamir Sohail was undone by Kenneth Benjamin.

A torturous 57-run third wicket alliance between Inzamamul Haq and Saleem Malik was disbanded by Walsh with the scoreboard painting a depressingly bleak picture.

Pakistan were teetering on the brink at 87 for three and 28 overs of the had expired already. In recent years, Misbahul Haq’s team were in a similar hole every other game and almost every time busted in their safety first resurrection endeavours.

That day in Sharjah, two hours of sheer mayhem took Pakistan to 284 for 4.

Basit was 23 at that time, he was playing his 10th ODI — eighth against the West Indians — in the first nine games he had gained a reputation of delivering under pressure. He was destined to own the Javed Miandad school of batting but he didn’t, surely one of Pakistan cricket’s deepest tragedies.

The precarious situation didn’t budge Basit, or at least that’s what he made us feel. The batsman who had honed his skills in Karachi’s streets initially played a series of dabs, cuts, late cuts, and drives. After the initial skirmishes, Basit delivered the performance of his life. Ambrose, Cummins, and Carl Hooper were hapless spectators as the ball screeched past the fielders or clattered in the stands.

The 127-run brutality included five sixes and 12 fours off only 79 balls.

In 1993, such attacks especially against the then best team in the world were simply unheard of, even on the most docile track the batsmen simply didn’t dare to take on Ambrose, Walsh and Co.

Basit sped to a 67-ball hundred, the second fastest of the time. His daring and arguably the most audacious knock ever at Sharjah brought him rich applause and instant recognition.

Commentator Sunil Gavaskar compared Basit with the then batting prodigies Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara.

Perhaps Lara was aggrieved, perhaps incredibly exasperated and less than three hours after the Basit blitz, the Prince of Trinidad responded with an astonishingly regal match-winning 153.

Shahid Afridi 102 vs Sri Lanka, Nairobi 1996



The 1996 World Cup had brought a refreshing change in batting approach. Sri Lanka mastered the pinch hitters concept and surged to the world champions crown without breaking into a sweat.

Only a fortnight after sealing the world title at the Gadaffi Stadium, Sanath Jayasuria belted Pakistan in a record breaking heist at Singapore — scorching to a 48-ball century.

Pakistan were seemingly craving revenge, back in the 90s the talent in the batting ranks allowed such machismo and only a few months later, Jayasuria was avenged — well and truly.

A largely forgettable four nation tournament taking place in Nairobi was reaching a climax; no one really cared much since the games couldn’t be broadcasted to Pakistan.

We are told that Pakistan had to beat Sri Lanka by a considerable margin to seal the second berth for the finals; South Africa had already taken the first.

This is the moment that Shahid Afridi happened to cricket, the one bewitching hour that introduced to the world the most unique yet the most infuriating cricketer ever. Suddenly, Nairobi was on the world map.

To combat the Sri Lankans, Pakistan sent Afridi playing his second ODI – first outing with the bat – at the number three spot; some call it the fulcrum, the most important number in the order.  Afridi in the pre-match practice session had hit some monstrous sixes off Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis.

Even in the middle of the most daunting chases the modern Pakistan line-up relies on ‘technically astute’ batsmen to stonewall at number three; Pakistan of the 90s threw Afridi at the deep end!

It is common knowledge that Afridi shredded apart the Sri Lankan attack that included Chaminda Vaas, Muttiah Muralitharan, Kumar Dharmasena and Jayasuria.

But few know that Afridi was determined to personally settle the scores with Jayasuria — he had seen the Singapore innings on TV — in two overs Afridi smashed the World Cup player of the series for five sixes; the world record was brutally snatched with a miserable Jayasuria contributing significantly to his own demise.

Afridi rocketed to a 37-ball hundred; Pakistan posted a 371 total, the then second highest ODI team innings of the time and Afridi’s Nairobi record stayed for more than 17 years.

Saeed Anwar 194 vs India, Chennai 1997



By mid-nineties Saeed Anwar had acquired the reputation of an exceptional stroke player who despite his natural ability struggled to post big scores. After a richly rewarding 1996 in both Test and ODI formats, Anwar went about the task of putting to bed the doubts of his detractors.

Pakistan and India were locked in a similar battle to the Pak-Lanka Nairobi clash. The last round game of the four nation tournament organised to celebrate 50 years of India’s independence turned into a virtual semi-final.

The eventual winner, the then world champions Sri Lanka had furthered their pedigree in the Asian conditions by advancing to the final with consummate ease — India and Pakistan had to slog it out.

Chennai was incredibly hot on the evening of May 21, Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja won the toss and Anwar strode out to open with Afridi.

By the 19th over Anwar was well set and smashing it all around the Chepauk stadium, but the heat was becoming unbearable and Anwar developed severe cramps in his legs. Afridi — who had fallen cheaply —was called out as his runner.

The detractors, especially those across the border, still rue the runner’s allowance to Anwar as he scaled new heights posting a serene 194 — the then world record for the highest individual score in an ODI.

The southpaw was a hairbreadth away from the first ever ODI double century before his dismissal off a Sachin Tendulkar off-spinner. The 206-minute master class included 22 fours and five sixes, Chennai was conquered and Anwar had reached the summit of ODI batting.

Eighteen years have passed and no Pakistan batsman even with the modern day lopsided rules and wickets in the batsman’s favour has come close to emulating Anwar’s epic apart from Imran Nazir’s 160 in the 2007 World Cup. No player has managed to even cross the 150-run mark in an ODI.

Forget the daddy hundreds this year, Pakistan’s century tally for 2015 reads an abjectly abysmal one in nine games.

Ijaz Ahmed 139* vs India, Lahore 1997



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.