Azharuddin’s Flamboyant 179 (243 Balls, 21 Fours, 1 Six) vs England | 2nd Test Old Trafford 1990 🏏 In the summer of 1990 at Old Trafford, Manchester, Muhammad Azharuddin produced one of the finest innings of his Test career — a flamboyant 179 runs off 243 balls in 281 minutes, decorated with 21 exquisite fours and a towering six. It was the 2nd Test of the series against England, played on a surface that favoured batting, and Azhar was at the peak of his powers.
Negating the movement with supreme ease, the wristy genius played strokes all around the wicket, finding gaps where none seemed to exist. This innings wasn’t just about runs — it was about artistry, timing, and the sheer joy of batting. In the process, Azhar became the first Indian batsman to score a hundred runs in a single session of a Test match, a feat that remains a testament to his dominance that day.
While England’s Robin Smith, Allan Lamb, and Mike Atherton also scored hundreds in the run-fest, it was Azhar’s knock that stood out for its flair and audacity. Even England captain Graham Gooch later admitted it was nearly impossible to set a field for him. This match saw six centuries, but Azhar’s remained the biggest and most breathtaking of them all.
Relive the magic of one of cricket’s greatest stroke-makers as he tore apart England’s bowling at Old Trafford. This is not just a highlight reel — it’s a piece of cricket history. 🏏🔥
00:00Muhammad Azruddin blazed like a comet at Old Trafford in the summer of 1990, as he produced
00:07one of the most belligerent innings ever witnessed on English soil.
00:11In the second test, on a pitch that was a true batter's paradise, Muhammad Azruddin
00:16carved out a scorching 179 runs from just 243 deliveries, spanning 281 minutes at the
00:24crease and peppering the boundary with 21 exquisite fours and a towering six.
00:29His stroke play was a masterclass in timing and elegance, each shot caressed with that
00:34unmistakable wristy flourish.
00:36Azruddin lit up Old Trafford with dazzling exhibitions of attacking cricket.
00:40It was wristwork at its most majestic, the flex, the drives and the late cuts.
00:46Each met with applause from an audience that knew they were watching something special.
00:50For Cricket Aver, this was more than just an inning.
00:53It was a performance to be cherished, a reminder that when Azruddin was in full flow, few could
00:59match the poetry and power of his batting.
01:06No one would bother running for that.
01:07There's no doubt about it that Azruddin's a fine stroke player.
01:13That was a quick one and to the best fielder out there.
01:15As Azruddin flipped it onto the onside, you could see he was sprinting.
01:19Yes, it was a risky run all right.
01:20To his throwing arm as well and Mandraka was very lucky that the throw wasn't accurate.
01:26So, Chris Lewis now comes on the ball.
01:27So, Chris Lewis now comes on the ball.
01:28That's a beautiful play.
01:29That's a beautiful play.
01:30That's a beautiful play.
01:31That's a beautiful play.
01:32That's a beautiful play.
01:33That's a beautiful play.
01:34So, Chris Lewis now comes on the ball.
01:35That's a beautiful play.
01:36Horan's finest of glides played off the hip by Azruddin.
01:37That's a beautiful play.
01:38That's a beautiful play.
01:39Horan's finest of glides played off the hip by Azruddin.
01:41And that's an again.
01:42Both a man, Four Rheys, one of the ones.
01:432 to his throwing arm as well and Mandraka was very lucky that the throw wasn't accurate.
01:46So, Chris Lewis now comes on the ball.
01:48That's a beautiful play.
01:49That's a beautiful play.
01:50Horan's finest of glides played off the hip by Azruddin.
01:53And that's an again.
01:54That's a good play.
01:59Horan's finest of glides played off the hip by Azruddin.
02:00Horan's finest of glides played off the hip by Azruddin.
02:04For a good win.
02:08Horan's finest of glides played off the hip by Azruddin.
02:09And four runs all the way, so an expensive time now for Proustos and the 1.50 comes up.
02:23And that's his 50, well played, nice little push up on the inside.
02:29The captain is doing his stuff.
02:33And now 100.
02:34100.
02:36Fine innings.
02:38Made a century at Lourdes.
02:41And now another one, entirely different in character here at Old Trafford.
02:46That's a splendid performance.
02:54That's a very big blow indeed.
02:56Overlong on.
02:58He miscued one earlier on Hatterton, but that's no doubt at all, straight into the crowd.
03:05That's a great shot by Hatterton.
03:08You've got to get to the pitch of Legspinner, if you're going to hit him over the top like that.
03:14And he did that.
03:15And there's a wonderful shot, and what a way to get to 150.
03:31And there'll be another one.
03:33He's ready for anything that Malcolm pitches short or wide.
03:37Muhammad Azruddin, at the height of his powers in the summer of 1990, was a sight to behold on English pitches where the ball often whispered and weaved through the air.
03:58He stood untroubled, negating movement with the ease of a master craftsman.
04:04His famed wrist work was in full bloom, granting him every stroke in the book, and a few that seemed to exit only in his own.
04:11Whether the ball was on off-stump, leg stumps, or anywhere in between, Muhammad Azruddin found a way to send it, racing to the parts of the field few could dare attempt.
04:23The Old Trafford contest was a run feast.
04:26England players Robin Smith and Alan Lamb both reached their hundreds, while young Mike Atherton knocked through the loudest roar from the home crowd.
04:34Yet amidst the sixth century scored in the match, Muhammad Azruddin, 179, was the most flamboyant, a sparkling inning that married elegance with audacity.
04:45Still in the eyes of players of the match adjudicator David Light, it was the young prodigy Sachin Tendulkar who stole the crown.
04:52England would go on to clinch the three-match series 1-0, but the memories of other artistry linger longer than the result itself.
05:01Angus Frazier would later admit Brian Lara was the best player I bowled at, and Azruddin during that summer was probably the second best.
05:09However, Graham Gooch, the England captain says, echoed that sentiment with admiration and perhaps a hint of exasperation.
05:17It was quite difficult to set field for Muhammad Azruddin because he could hit the ball both sides of the wicket and into places you wouldn't expect.
05:26He would take a straight ball and thread it through the offside or send a void delivery screaming through the mid wicket.
05:32Azruddin that summer was not merely scoring run.
05:35He was redefining how a pastman could command a field, dismantling plans with the grace of a poet and the procedures of a surgeon.
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