Azhar, the man with many lives

SHARJAH, MARCH 25: Self-belief, they say, is a man's greatest ally. Check out Mohammed Azharuddin's kit bag, there are loads and loads of ...

SHARJAH, MARCH 25: Self-belief, they say, is a man’s greatest ally. Check out Mohammed Azharuddin’s kit bag, there are loads and loads of that in it.

Or else, how do you explain the man’s comeback saga, when the number of people backing him, just a month ago, could be counted on fingertips. The man is not playing for numbers or records. He didn’t even realise he had reached another milestone with his match-winning half century against Pakistan at Sharjah Friday night, getting past the West Indian opener Desmond Haynes’ world record of maximum One-Day half-centuries. In fact, he had to be reminded of that.

“I am happy if I have achieved that feat. It’s nice to be one up on others,” he said after his record-breaking knock. “But, as I have alwaysmaintained, records are good only to an extent. How you play and enjoy the game are more important. It reveals your true identity.”

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It partially explains why Azhar, at 37, was desperate for a comeback. The man had achieved so much on the cricket field; highest run-getter and maximum catches in ODIs, 15 years of international cricket and so on but he was still being seen suspiciously.

He got the sack after last year’s World Cup and fell out of favour with the new Sachin Tendulkar-Kapil Dev regime which took over Indian cricket. There were allegations against Azhar too, which the man himself dismissed as “baseless”. Then came the disturbing news that the “seniors didn’t want him in the team on the Australian tour”.

Still, he preferred to be a golden leaf of autumn, barely managing to cling on to the next day. He willed himself to the job and got down to where he hadactually started, some 17 years or so — playing domestic cricket at places so obscure that reports carrying his scores took time to reach people.

As too, maybe, the selectors. It was only after the Indians were routed in Australia and Tendulkar-Kapil fell from the chair of invincibility, that Azhar got a chance to redeem himself. Those who saw him bat again for India in the Bangalore Test were simply amazed to find him so fit, probably the fittest in the team. A century in that Test found him being hailed a hero by the same people who had turned their backs on him. Even now, Azhar doesn’t have many friends in the Indian team though he tries his best to suggest otherwise. But, he also knows it shouldn’t bother him as long as God is with him. Only He (God) knows how many lives Azhar, the Child of destiny, has.

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AZHAR’s RECORD: Azharuddin set the world record of most number of fifties in One-day Internationals by scoring his 58th fifty against Pakistan in the second match of tri-nation Coca Cola Cup at Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Thursday.

Azharuddin’s record 58th fifty came off 79 balls with seven fours. It was Azharuddin’s ninth half-century at Sharjah and ninth against Pakistan in one dayers.

He was playing the 303rd innings of 329th One-day International match. West Indian opening batsman Desmond Haynes, who scored 57 half-centuris in 238 One-day Internationals, held the previous record.

DETAIL OF AZHARUDDIN’S FIFTIES

Opponent Matches Innings 100s 50s
New Zealand 40 39 1 7
Pakistan 62 57 2 9
West Indies 43 42 – 2
England 24 23 – 8
Sri Lanka 52 47 3 15
Zimbabwe 22 17 1 2
Bangladesh 6 3 – 1
Australia 43 41 – 6
South Africa 32 32 – 7
Emirates 1 1 – 1
Kenya 4 1 – –
Total 329 303 7 58
— S PERVEZ QAISER