Azhar remembers her 3 hundred and her Eden.

Fourth test in Madras, from January 13 to 18, 1985; Azhar 48, 105

Fifth test in Kanpur, from January 31 to February 5, 1985; Azhar 122, 54 *

Calcutta was seething with anger. “No Kapil, no Test” was the call. India had lost the previous test against England in Delhi and the firing of Kapil Dev’s second inning, which triggered the team’s collapse, was said to be the reason for the defeat. Sunil Gavaskar, then captain of India, was on the receiving end of the fans’ wrath, as the selectors “punished” Kapil by dropping him for the third Test. Later even Kapil had talked about what the selection committee’s decision was like and the captain had little choice, but at a time when a section of the Indian cricket press was busy selling the Gavaskar-Kapil rift to its readers, the First it became an easy task. objective.

Sandeep Patil, a boy fond of Indian cricket, was also fired for the alleged hara-kiri in the Delhi Test. Kapil was irreplaceable, but India had a ready replacement in the middle order. In December 1984, Mohammad Azharuddin was a 21-year-old inexperienced. But he was with the squad and his domestic cricket form turned him into a shoo-in at n. ° 5.

It was not the ideal situation for a young man to debut in the Test. Their captain was being programmed. India had given up the lead and the five-game series was leveled at 1-1. England had Norman Cowans and Richard Ellison swinging, and even on the eve of the game, Azhar didn’t know he was playing.

“I only got to know about playing the match only 45 minutes before the start of the game. So, I was very nervous. At the same time, I was sure that I had a very good career for the past three to four months (in domestic cricket). I came into the game after scoring hundreds in both innings in a Ranji Trophy game. So that was the confidence he had. But I think the selectors also had a lot of faith in me. Mr. Chandu Borde (then head of the team) insisted that he should play, “says Azhar, speaking with The Indian Express.

Gavaskar was having a poor series by his incredibly high standards. Inside the stadium, fans booed the teacher, sometimes breaking the line and calling his family members as well. From December 31, 1984, to January 5, 1985, when the Test was played, Calcutta was not kind to a legend and the whole team had to bear the brunt of it.

First batting, India was under pressure at 127/4 when Azhar paired with Ravi Shastri and stitched a fifth-wicket association of 214 runs. Cricket was slow and boring. An attendance of 80,000 at the Eden for Test cricket was common in those days and fans had expressed disapproval. But they were kind to the debutante.

“I was the twelfth man in the first two tests. Therefore, he could at least evaluate how the Cricket Test was played and how to make mental preparations. I learned a lot by looking. I was an enthusiastic observer. (Also) I was very lucky to have played with Sunny bhai (Gavaskar). And there were so many great players on that team: Dilip bhai (Vengsarkar), Jimmy bhai (Mohinder Amarnath), Kiri Bhai (Syed Kirmani). Kapil paaji was not in that game; but he had a lot of people who could advise me, “recalls Azhar.

Back in the middle, the bowlers from England were asking tough questions. Thirty-five years later, when Azhar offers a setback, he still talks about the curve in Ellison’s deliveries. “For the first time, I was playing in front of so many people. The ball was swinging. At the end of December, Calcutta is also very cold. It was dark. The light decreases very quickly during that time of year. I was lucky to survive an opportunity when I was eight or ten. I got my hundred (110) playing over 300 balls. Conditions were not conducive to stroke. There were times when I was hit twice or three times in one finale. I had to concentrate much stronger. At the end of the day, I got a hundred and it was very satisfying. It was the destiny that I obtained a hundred in my first match ”.

It was then that Azhar’s love story with Eden began. Over a period of 15 years in seven tests at this location, he ended up scoring 860 runs at an average of 107.50, including five centuries. As Azhar would say, his love affair with Eden began in 1977, when he played for the South Zone at the Cooch Behar Trophy. “The first game I played at Eden Gardens, I scored fifty. I came as a schoolboy to play at Eden Gardens. And I was very happy to make my test debut there. ”

Just a few months before the Test series, Azhar had lost his mentor, his grandfather, Mohammad Vajehuddin. “I missed him. He was my mentor and helped me become who I am today. He taught me how to be humble. Those words, humble and humble, stayed with me. My grandmother also prayed a lot for me. When she used to go practice for the morning my grandmother got up at 4:30 am I used to make tea and every time I gave her tea she would hold my hand and pray for me.

“My father and mother never stopped me from playing. On his way to the office, every time my father (Mohammad Azizzuddin) saw that he was hitting in my college games, he used to go to Nizam College to watch the game. And he invariably used to be late for the office. My family always supported me because I was a hard worker. They knew I was practicing or playing with some purpose in my mind, “says Azhar.

He mentions his first cousin Khalid, who now lives in Bahrain, for his encouragement. “He (Khalid) was the only person who saw my first hundred live in Calcutta. Every time he played a bad shot, he screamed from outside. He saw me play all the games from school. He deserves a very, very special mention. “Azhar also talks about his maternal uncle Mir Zainul Abedin, who taught him the basics of the game. He offers his gratitude to all the coaches, including Lala Amarnath, Mushtaq Ali, and Vasant Amladi, who helped them reach the Test level.

After negotiating the swing at Eden, Azhar went to Madras for the fourth test, January 13-18, 1985, and scored another hundred. “That was a very good wicket to hit.” In the first innings as well, I was hitting at 48 and then I tried to play a ball through the vacant square leg region and overdo it. I was out of combat. In the second inning, the ball was spinning a bit, but Chepauk’s throw always had a good rebound. When Neil Foster played, he was getting a very good rebound. So the hundred (105) in the second inning was also very satisfying. In the first innings, I had a 110-race partnership with Jimmy Bhai. In the second entry, we shared a stand of 190 races. He encouraged me a lot and helped me a lot. But, at the end of the day, we lost the Test, which was not satisfactory.

The fifth and final test was at Kanpur, from January 31 to February 5, 1985. Green Park generally throws friendly hitting pitches, but in the winter, the pinch-in-the-air was helping the ball move prodigiously. “Yes, the ball moved a lot. The wicket was wet. The atmosphere was heavy. He was hitting in ’98 at the end of the day’s play (in the first innings) and there was a lot of hard work to do. I was hitting at n. ° 5 and then, suddenly, they asked me to beat in no. ° 3. A lot of people asked me if I had slept well, hitting in 98. When you get 98, you definitely sleep well. At least you know you’ve scored 98, even if you don’t hit a hundred, “Azhar recalls.

He went on to score 122, setting the world record. Azhar did not know that history beckoned. “Only after I got my hundred were I told that I made a world record: three hundred in the first three tests.” The celebration was basically limited to many interview requests and a phone call from the then Prime Minister, the late Rajiv Gandhi. “During the lunch break they took me from the dressing room to the comment box. Rajiv Gandhi was on the phone. He wanted to talk to me and he congratulated me. He was a very good man. ”

In the second inning, Azhar was hitting at 54 when Gavaskar declared, kicking off the debate whether he should have allowed the youngster to score his fourth century. “We were playing for the statement. Many people kept saying many things. Sunny Bhai always gave me a lot of encouragement. With Sunny Bhai, you really had to go and ask her. If you get close to him, he would tell you. He became very fond of me. He presented me with a Fred Perry shirt when I went to Bombay for the first test. I used it in all three tests and then in many other games. A gift from Sunny Bhai was a prized possession. Promoting me the order was also his decision. He did this in consultation with the selectors.

Veterans would remember Ravi Chaturvedi’s cultivated euphoria behind the microphone when a star was born. “Azhar ki mein ball bearings with laga hua hai (Azhar has ball bearings on his wrists)”. He was a predominantly leg-side player, who worked hard and became excellent on the outside as the years went by. His 121 at Lord’s in 1990 and 182 against England at Eden in 1993 had been filled with offside gems.

Azhar announced his arrival to Indian cricket in his debut series. He built on that and gradually became the team’s batting pillar. And when he didn’t score runs, he contributed with his fielding. To this day, Azhar remains the best general outfielder in India. Someone who was so stylish with the bat and is a fan of Amir Khusro’s poem on Brij Bhasha off the field, his fielding also had a touch of romanticism: an action he picks up and casts from the deep short half gate reversal movies and short cover … Your fielding exercises could serve as a manual for all who aspire to become a good fielding.

“If you want to be a very, very good fielder, you have to be in top form. You also need good reflexes and good anticipation. The most important thing in the field is anticipation. If you want to become a good fielder, you must read the hitter. I always wanted the ball to come (for me). I took 150 catches per day (in practice). Then I threw 50-60 balls on a stump. This is how I improved my field. ”

PD India lost the Test series against England 2-1, but the BCCI / selectors defied for once the tradition (of that time) and retained Gavaskar as captain of India for the Cricket World Championship in Australia. It was a different story that the BCCI had asked the boss to take the back door of the team hotel to attend the selection meeting. Gavaskar led India to the triumph of the Cricket World Championship before giving up the captaincy. Patil never played for the country in the long-form again after the Delhi Test. Azhar went on to play 99 Tests and 334 ODI, making him one of the most successful captains in India.