On this day: Mohammad Azharuddin completes three centuries in his first three Tests
Mohammad Azharuddin arrived in the Test arena like a monarch. In his debut Test at the iconic Eden Gardens stadium in Kolkata, the wristy Hyderabadi batter scored a scintillating 110 against England. As if that was just a sign of things to come, Azharuddin scored 105 in his second Test. Yet, it was still not enough for him. In his third Test, Azharuddin scored yet another three-figure score in Kanpur, to announce to the world that he was a batsman to be taken notice of.
On 1st February 1985, Azharuddin completed his third consecutive Test century in the whites in as many Tests. And, this is a century that will be a part of history forever, because in more than 14 decades of Test cricket, no batsman except Azharuddin has scored three consecutive centuries in his first three Tests.
The Indian side won the toss and decided to bat first in Kanpur. India lost their legendary opener, Sunil Gavaskar for just 9. And, that is when Azharuddin walked out to the middle to join Kris Srikkanth. The duo put on a partnership of 150 runs for the second wicket before Srikkanth was dismissed for a brisk 84 off 138 deliveries.
But then, Azharuddin carried on. In an innings studded with 16 fours, the right-hander scored a masterly 122, to help his side to post a commanding total of 553 runs on the board. Apart from Azharuddin, the other centurion for India in the first innings was Dilip Vengsarkar, who scored a sedate 137.
In reply, England scored 417, with Tim Robinson top-scoring for the visitors with 96. Kapil Dev was the pick of the bowlers for the hosts, scalping 4 wickets. India started their second innings with a lead of 136 runs. In a bid to get quick runs, India sent in Ravi Shastri to open the batting with Srikkanth in the second innings. The move failed, as Shastri was run out for just 2. However, Srikkanth and Azharuddin continued from where they left off in the first innings.
While Srikkanth scored a fast 31 ball 41*, Azharuddin scored a blazing 54* off just 43 balls as India declared their second innings with the scorecard reading 97/1. The Indian side consumed just 13 overs to score 97 runs, and scored their runs at a rate of 7.46 runs per over.
In reply, the England batsmen resolutely played out 36 overs, as the match ended in a draw. England ended their second innings with the scorecard reading 91/0.
Azharuddin would go on to become one of the all-time greats for India with the willow. The right-hander played 99 Tests for his country and scored 6215 runs at an average of 45.04 in the whites. Even in coloured clothing, Azharuddin featured in a staggering 334 ODI matches and scored 9378 runs at an average of 36.92. And, the glittering numbers that he accumulated stand testimony to the fact that Azharuddin was a special talent.
