A dominant presence at the crease
When Azharuddin created the benchmark for himself with three consecutive centuries, he actually managed to set the bar high for himself. He has always described his approach to batting in modest terms. He believed “Scoring runs is not in my hands. If He desires me to do well, nothing can prevent me from doing so. And if He has decided it is not my time, there is nothing I can do about it. All I have to do is try my best.”
Try his best! Yes, he did it. He averaged 45.03 runs over 99 Tests throughout his career. What Mike Gatting, the legendary English cricketer, had to say about Azharuddin’s batting is a funny one. He admitted, “Whenever that black thing (referring to his taweez) hung out we knew we were in trouble.”
Azharuddin’s highest score in ODIs was an unbeaten 153 runs. He tallied a high score of 199 runs in a Test match as well. When VVS Laxman was compared to Azhar, he conceded privately claiming “Please. There cannot be any comparison. ‘Azzu bhai’ is far, far superior. I can’t ape his class.”