Zaheer Abbas – Birthday – Top 3 performances in international cricket
Zaheer Abbas is arguably Pakistan’s greatest ever batter to have played the game. While he has an impressive record with the national team, you had to watch him play to experience the beauty and elegance of his batting. Such was the batting prowess that he was famously labeled as the Asian Don Bradman. The elegant batter’s run-scoring appetite can be measured by his feat of 100 centuries in domestic cricket, the only Asian batter to do so. On the eve of his 75th birthday, here are some of the best works of the spectacled genius for the national team.
118 against India, 1982
Pakistan welcomed India to Multan for the second ODI of the four-match series after winning the series opener at the Jinnah stadium. The hosts led by Imran Khan won the toss and elected to bat first in the match and put a massive target of 263 runs on the board in their 40 overs on the back of twin centuries from Mohsin Khan and Zaheer Abbas. The latter played an eye-catching inning of 118 runs off just 86 deliveries as he flattened the Indian bowlers with his nonchalant hitting. Pakistan won the game by 37 runs, and Zaheer Abbas was named the player of the match for his brilliance with the bat.
240 against England, 1974
Kennington Oval hosted the third and final Test match between England and Pakistan with the series level at 0-0. The visitors opted to bat first on a batting-friendly surface in London after winnings the toss and posted an insurmountable tally of 600 runs in their first innings. While several Paksitani batters got starts in the first innings, it was Zaheer Abbas who shone bright with his sensational 240, which included 22 boundaries. The match eventually fizzled out in a draw, and Abbas finished as the leading run-getter in the three-match series.
274 against England, 1971
Zaheer Abbas had a penchant for scoring big scores in red-ball cricket and he put the English bowlers to the sword with his mesmerizing batting when the two sides met in Birmingham for the first Test of a three-match series. Pakistan batted first after Intikhab Alam called it right at the toss and posted a mammoth total of 608 in their first innings at Edgbaston. The innings featured three centurions from the visiting side, including career-best innings of 274 by the graceful Zaheer Abbas. His magnificent double century ensured that the visitors were ahead in the game from the very start, and the hosts managed to scrape out a draw after following on in the second innings.
