ISLAMABAD – Pakistan Cricket has progressed well over the years; there wasa time when no batsman from Pakistan crossed 150 runs in an innings butthen for over a decade, Pakistan held the world record for highestindividual innings. As the eras changed and the game became more batsmenfriendly, batsmen have now started to score double tons with India takingthe lead with as many as 5 double hundreds including three by Rohit Sharmaand one each by Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag. Pakistan’s FakharZaman joined the list that also has New Zealand’s Martin Guptill and WestIndies’ Chris Gayle, but in the process, he broke the national record heldby Saeed Anwar for 21 years. Let’s take a look at the way the highest scorehas progressed in Pakistan Cricket and find out how the game has changedover the years.
*37 – Sadiq Muhammad (1973)*
Pakistan Cricket team was amongst the best in the world in the 1970s butthey didn’t have a good start to the limited overs international as theycrashed to a 22-run loss to New Zealand at Christchurch in 1973. Chasing188 to win their debut ODI, Pakistan team was bowled out for 165 runs inthe 34th over. Sadiq Mohammad top scored the innings with 37 runs withbrother Mushtaq scoring 27 and Wasim Bari and Saleem Altaf managing 21 each.
*109 – Majid Khan (1974)*
Chasing 245 to win in the first ODI against England at Nottingham, Pakistanbegan on a positive note with Sadiq Mohammad and Majid Khan providing theteam an ideal start of 113. Majid Khan became the first Pakistani to crossthe three-figure mark in the team’s second ODI, ending with 109 runs off 93balls. His record stood for nearly a decade before his teammate from thatmatch bettered it against Sri Lanka.
*123 – Zaheer Abbas (1982)*
The master blaster was in the form of his life in the early 1980s andthat’s why when he scored 123 runs against a weak Sri Lankan side inLahore, not many were surprised. He faced just 87 balls in his innings andhit 15 fours and 3 sixes to post the highest individual score by a Pakistanthat stood for nearly 7 years.
*126* – Shoaib Mohammad (1989)*
The record once held by one Mohammad was now owned by another batsman fromthe same family; Shoaib Mohammad was not one of the best one day batsmenPakistan produced (he was more of a Test batsman) but by scoring 126 notout against New Zealand at Wellington, he created a record that stood formore than 4 years. He faced 155 deliveries and hit 13 boundaries in theinnings and could tell his children that at one time, no Pakistan hadscored more runs than him in an innings!
*131 – Saeed Anwar (1993)*
He came, he saw and he conquered – that’s what the followers of the gamesaid of Saeed Anwar whenever he went out to bat especially at Sharjah.During the end of 1993, he was in supreme form and scored 3 back to backcenturies to equal Zaheer Abbas’ record; one of those centuries – 131 runsoff 141 balls – was the highest individual innings by a Pakistani and sinceit was scored against the mighty West Indies, it was unbelievable as well.
*137* – Inzamam ul Haq (1994)*
Less than 6 months later, Inzamam ul Haq broke the national record of thehighest individual score by a Pakistan by scoring 137 not out against NewZealand in the semi-final of the third and final Austral Asia Cup inSharjah. It was scored in the same match where for a brief moment AamerSohail broke Saeed Anwar’s record and ended his innings at 134, losing therecord to his partner at the crease by three runs a few overs later. Butyou can’t get away from Saeed Anwar after breaking his record, could you!
*194 – Saeed Anwar (1997)*
He was making a comeback to the national side after a mystery illness thatkept him out of the game for five months; Saeed Anwar showed no signs offatigue as he launched an attack on Indian bowlers in Chennai and despitegetting injured during the innings, manage to break Viv Richards’ record of189 runs which was till then the highest score in an ODI innings. He hit 22fours and 5 sixes in his 146-ball innings that not only helped Pakistan winthe match but also held the record for over a decade till Zimbabwe’sCharles Coventry equaled it in 2009.
*210* – Fakhar Zaman (2018)*
And then there was the poster boy of Pakistan Cricket Fakhar Zaman whobroke Saeed Anwar’s record, created the record of most runs (515 runs) in afive-match series and reached 1000 runs in fewer innings than anyone else,ever. In the process, he also became the first Pakistani to score a doublecentury in ODIs and ending the match at 210 not out with the help of 24fours and 5 sixes at an astonishing strike rate of 134.61. Let’s see tillhow long he holds the record and whether someone breaks it soon or it staysfor a long time, longer than the 194 that was once deemed unbreakable