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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