Inzamam-ul-Haq: the Sultan of Multan

Pakistan has produced many great batsmen, but few have shown the calm of Inzamam-ul-Haq. Even against the fastest bowling, he stood as if he had plenty of time, and then, with a slight movement, sent the ball over the boundary. For more than a decade and a half he was a pillar of Pakistan’s batting. He scored 8,830 runs in Tests and 11,739 in One-Day Internationals, was part of the team that won the 1992 World Cup and later captained the side for several years¹.

Early life and start in cricket

Inzamam-ul-Haq was born in Multan on 3 March 1970. He began his domestic career with the Multan team and later represented several departmental sides. His nephew, Imam-ul-Haq, also went on to play for Pakistan. Friends affectionately called him “Inzi”, while among fans he became known as the “Sultan of Multan”².

His ODI career began against West Indies in Lahore on 22 November 1991, when he scored 20 in his first innings. Within weeks, he made 101 against Sri Lanka in Multan on 17 January 1992 and 117 in Rawalpindi two days later, announcing the arrival of a major batsman¹.

The 1992 World Cup and arrival in Test cricket

Imran Khan personally picked him for the 1992 World Cup. He was not very successful in the early matches of the tournament, but the captain kept faith in him. That trust paid off in the semi-final against New Zealand in Auckland. Pakistan were in trouble while chasing a big target, and Inzamam played a fast, fearless innings that took the team to the final. The knock is counted among the memorable innings in World Cup history, and he also made an important contribution in the final with quick runs².

His Test career began against England in Birmingham on 4 June 1992, where he finished on 8 not out. His first Test century came in May 1993 against West Indies in St John’s, Antigua, when he scored 123. The centuries kept coming: 135 not out in Wellington in February 1994, 100 not out in Kandy in August 1994, and 148 against England at Lord’s in July 1996. His highest ODI score was 137 not out against New Zealand in Sharjah on 20 April 1994¹.

The peak years

Inzamam was at his peak in the late 1990s and the early 2000s. He scored 177 against West Indies in Rawalpindi in November 1997, and 200 not out against Sri Lanka in the final of the Asian Test Championship in Dhaka in March 1999². Then came 118 against Australia in Hobart, and centuries in Karachi, Georgetown and Galle in 2000¹.

His biggest innings came against New Zealand in Lahore in May 2002, when he scored 329 off 436 balls, including 38 fours and 9 sixes¹. It is still counted among the most memorable Test innings by a Pakistani batsman.

Captaincy

Between 2001 and 2007, Inzamam led Pakistan in 31 Tests. In those matches he scored 2,397 runs at an average of 52.10, including 7 centuries. From 2002 to 2007 he captained in 90 ODIs and scored 2,809 runs at an average of 43.89¹. The responsibility improved his batting further.

His 138 not out against Bangladesh in Multan in September 2003 won Pakistan a difficult match. In the ODI series against India in March 2004, he scored 122 in Karachi and 123 in Lahore. His 184 against India in Bangalore in March 2005, in his 100th Test, proved decisive in levelling the series². In November 2005 he scored a century in both innings of a single Test against England in Faisalabad, 109 and 100 not out. In January 2006 he made 119 against India at the same venue, his 25th and last Test century¹.

In August 2006 he played his only T20 International, as captain against England in Bristol, and remained 11 not out. His last ODI was against Zimbabwe in Kingston, Jamaica, on 21 March 2007, and his last Test against South Africa in Lahore on 8 October 2007¹.

Statistics

Source: ESPNcricinfo Statsguru¹. The figures are for his international career.

Influence and legacy

Inzamam-ul-Haq’s greatest strength was that he read the length of the ball very early and played the shot very late. This made his batting especially strong against fast bowlers, and the pull shot and strokes on the leg side became his trademarks. Imran Khan called him the best batsman in the world against fast bowling, because he seemed to have plenty of time before the ball reached him². He also occasionally bowled left-arm spin.

His runs in both Tests and ODIs are among the great assets in Pakistan’s cricket history: 25 Test centuries and 83 ODI fifties¹. In 2005 he was named in the ICC’s annual World XIs for both Tests and ODIs, and in the same year the Government of Pakistan awarded him the Sitara-i-Imtiaz². A calm batsman who steadied the team in difficult times, he will always hold a high place among Pakistan’s greatest middle-order batsmen.