Not only 99, India’s veteran cricketer is also stuck in 199


New Delhi. Mohammad Azharuddin, the former captain of the Indian cricket team, was counted among the artistic batsmen of the country. Azhar, the magician of the wrists, used to hit boundaries in such an excellent way that even the opposition bowlers and fielders were left speechless. Azhar used to use his wrists while batting in such a way that he could play the off side ball on the on side as well. Due to this skill, setting the field for him was no less than a problem for the opposition captain. By the way, during his cricket career of about 16 years, Azhar got stuck in 99 as well as 199 rounds.

Getting caught in the turn of 99 is usually said in the language of cricket when the batsman scores 99 runs but is deprived of a century by a margin of one run due to being dismissed or remaining unbeaten. However, Azhar’s ’99 Ka Pher’ is different from this. Significantly, Azharuddin, who started his international career in 1984, scored centuries in the first three Tests of his career. His record has not been broken till now.

The journey was halted at 99 Tests
Azhar played 99 Test matches but despite scoring a century in this match, unfortunately his Test journey stopped in this match. The reason behind getting entangled in this way in the ’99 round’ in the Test match was that Azhar’s name came up in the match-fixing scandal and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) imposed a life ban on him. In such a situation, Azhar’s Test career got stuck at 99 only.

Life ban lifted after 12 years of legal battle
However, after fighting the legal battle for years, Azhar came out clean from the allegation of match-fixing. By the time he got victory in this case in the year 2012, he was 49 years old. The life ban imposed on Azhar was lifted, but by then time had slipped out of hands. In such a situation, Azhar’s career stopped at 99. Azhar played 99 Test matches for India, scoring 6125 runs at an average of 45, including 22 centuries. Along with this, Azhar played 334 ODIs for India and scored 9378 runs at an average of 36.92 with the help of seven centuries.

Was out for 199 against Sri Lanka
Now the matter has turned to 199. During his Test career, Azhar has also been dismissed for 199 runs and missed a double century by a margin of one run, after which Azhar could never score a double century in international cricket and this 199 runs was his highest score. In this Test played from 17 to 22 December 1986, Azhar scored 199 runs with the help of 16 fours and a six and was lbw by fast bowler Ravi Ratnayake.

Tags: Azhar, Cricket, Muhammad azharuddin

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