Imran Khan
A winner to
the end
Born
25.11.1952
BATTING (World
Cups 1975-1992)
Matches.....28
Innings.....24
Not Out.....5
Highest Score.....102*
Runs.....666
Average.....35.05
Strike-rate.....65.61
100s.....1
50s.....4
Catches.....6
BOWLING (World
Cups 1975-1992)
Balls.....1017
Maidens.....18
Runs.....655
Wickets.....34
Average.....19.26
Best.....4/37
Runs
Per Over.....3.86
The reams that have already been written about
Imran Khan make it impossible to add anything new. While referring to him one
cannot help but use the same old words: ‘charismatic’, ‘debonair’, ‘imperious’,
‘pin-up superstar’, ‘autocratic’, the adjectives are unending. He was all this
and more. A devastating fast bowler, fine batsman, great allrounder,
outstanding leader of men who led by personal example, a focussed individual
who set very high standards for himself and had the ability, and the courage,
to achieve them.
For one who reached the pinnacle, Imran’s entry
into top-grade cricket was obscure. Having made his Test debut in 1971 at the
age of eighteen, he made an impact only in 1976-77 in Australia when he suddenly
emerged as a deadly speedster. There was no looking back for him henceforth.
But in 1975 Imran was hardly the high-class
allrounder that he eventually became. In the first match he was only the fifth
bowler, though he took the coveted
wickets of Greg Chappell and Rodney Marsh at a cost of 44 runs in 10
overs. He scored only 9 as Pakistan
suffered a heavy defeat. Injury forced him out of the West Indies game but he
opened the bowling with Asif Masood against Sri Lanka. He bowled well,
returning with a haul of three for 15 off 7.1 overs. Even though he had not
reached his prime, Imran was his side’s leading bowler in the first World Cup.
By 1979 Imran was, along with Ian Botham, the
foremost allrounder in the world. But he did not dazzle in this tournament. He
bowled economically, conceding less than three runs per over, and chipped in
with useful scores with the bat. His best was yet to come. The legend of Imran
Khan continued to grow, and by the end of 1982 he had scaled tremendous heights
as a bowler. In the home Test series he destroyed the strong Indian batting
line-up, but this hour of glory was followed by months of agony as injury
forced him to give up bowling for some time.
In the 1983 World Cup, therefore, Imran played
only as batsman and, of course, captain. It was here that he displayed his
great single-mindedness of purpose as he concentrated hard on getting runs for
his side. In the opening match against Sri Lanka he scored an unbeaten 56 off
just 33 balls with 2 sixes and 6 fours, and added 96 for the fourth wicket with
Javed Miandad in an awesome display of controlled hitting.
Two failures followed, but one of Imran’s finest
innings in One-day cricket was only round the corner. As the Sri Lankan pacemen
stunned Pakistan in the return encounter, dismissing five batsmen for only 43,
Imran found an able ally in Shahid Mahboob. The two put on a record 144 for the
sixth wicket. Imran scored a superb unbeaten 102 off 133 balls with 11 fours,
the first century by a Pakistani in the World Cup. Even so, the Gary
Sobers-coached Sri Lankans got to within 11 runs of the Pakistan score.
Imran then combined with Zaheer Abbas in a
brilliant unbroken 147-run stand for the fourth wicket against New Zealand. He
was undefeated with 79 at the end, having hit a six and 7 fours off just 74
balls. His effort along with Zaheer’s was just enough to pip the Kiwis and
scramble into the semi-finals. Imran was man-of-the-match. He managed only 17
in the penultimate round before Malcolm Marshall had him snapped up by Jeff
Dujon. He topped the side’s batting average at 70.75, picking up 283 runs in
the process.
The 1987 World Cup was played in his own
backyard. Back with the ball in hand, Imran claimed his 100th wicket in One-day
Internationals as he took two for 42 against Sri Lanka. He came up with his
best World Cup bowling display against reigning champions West Indies. Imran
had his opposite number Vivian Richards snapped up by Salim Malik for 51. He
then proceeded to demolish the tail, returning with four for 37 off 8.3
overs. This performance went a long way
in the sensational Pakistani win by one wicket off the last ball as Abdul Qadir
waded into Courtney Walsh in the final over.
Imran returned an identical analysis of four for
37 in 9 overs as Pakistan achieved a crushing seven-wicket win over England. He
had Graham Gooch pouched by Wasim Akram, and later castled Allan Lamb as
England threatened to pile up a big score. He then had Paul Downton and Philip
DeFreitas caught behind. The game with Sri Lanka was a cakewalk; Imran was run
out for 39 and took one for 13 off 3.2 overs before injury forced him to come
off. Pakistan had already made it to the semi-finals but the West Indies
achieved a consolation win in the last league match as Imran took three for 57
off 9 overs.
The semi-final at Lahore raised great
expectations but the ascendant Australians dashed the fond hopes of the home
crowd. Imran came up with a heroic allround performance, in vain. He took three
wickets for 36 in his 10 overs, and then added 112 for the fourth wicket with
Miandad after three Pakistan wickets had gone for 38. He scored a fine 58 but
Pakistan fell short by 18 runs before a hushed crowd at the Gaddafi Stadium.
Though the final result was a disappointment, the 1987 World Cup was a personal
triumph for Imran. He had the best bowling average of 13.05, and was second in
the list of wicket-takers with 17 scalps.
It was a sombre Imran at the presentation
ceremony. He had announced that he would retire after this tournament, and
there was a poignant moment when Abdul Qadir paid Imran a glowing tribute and
handed the skipper the keys of the car that the leg-spinner had won. This
showed the esteem in which he was held by his teammates and how dearly they all
wanted to win the World Cup. There was hardly a soul who did not feel sad at
the sight of this magnificent cricketer bowing out in defeat.
But life has a lot of surprises in store.
Pakistan president, the late General Zia-ul-Haq coaxed Imran out of retirement,
and with his cancer hospital as a spur, Imran led his side to the title in the
1992 World Cup. His team was on the verge of elimination but showed great
fortitude to fight back and win the glittering crystal globe. He revealed:
"I asked the team to behave like a cornered tiger. To go out and fight. To
snarl. And they responded magnificently."
Imran could not play two of the first four
matches nor did he make much impact in the other two. Pakistan seemed to be
limping on. Then South Africa beat them. Imran took two for 34 and figured in a
brilliant 85-run third-wicket partnership in 97 balls with young
Inzamam-ul-Haq. But Pakistan fell short by 20 runs in a game curtailed by rain.
With the team in a deep abyss, there was a
crucial game ahead against the hosts and reigning champions Australia, who too
were going through the horrors. This was to prove the turning point and
thereafter Pakistan raised their level of play, winning all the remaining
matches. Imran scored only 13 but took two for 32 as Australia faded away. Then
Sri Lanka were brushed aside and the unbeaten run of New Zealand was halted.
Imran played minor roles in these matches.
The semi-final was a return encounter with New
Zealand. Imran scored a valuable 44, batting at no.3. His two half-century
stands with Rameez Raja and Miandad gave impetus to the innings. Pakistan
overhauled the formidable Kiwi score of 262 with an over to spare, and entered
their first World Cup final.
For England it was not a novel experience,
having figured in the finals in 1979 and 1987. Imran made a determined 72 off
110 deliveries with 5 fours and a six, the top score in his team’s total of 249
for six. His crucial third-wicket partnership of 139 with Javed Miandad was the
launch pad from which the side made its assault on the title. Then Wasim Akram
made some vital breakthroughs and Pakistan were home by 22 runs. Fittingly,
Imran took the last wicket to crown a great career.
Imran became the then highest wicket-taker in
the World Cup with 34 wickets at a fine average of 19.26, and an economy-rate
of 3.86, in 28 matches. He scored 666 runs (average 35.05) with a century and
four half-centuries. In the process he left a huge stamp on the premier
tournament in One-day cricket.
Imran Khan was an all rounder par excellence,
successful captain and an exceptional personality. He achieved a status
reserved only for rock stars and top actors, as much due to his good looks as
his daring deeds on the field. His commitment to the cancer hospital project,
which he set up in memory of his mother, was yet another step forward for this
great achiever. No, they don’t make many like Imran Khan Niazi.
(Author Indra Vikram Singh can be contacted
on email singh_iv@hotmail.com).
The
Big Book of World Cup Cricket 1975-2011
ISBN
978-81-901668-4-3
Distributed
in India by Variety Book Depot, Connaught Place, New Delhi, Phones + 91 11
23417175, 23412567.
Available
in leading bookshops, and online on several websites.
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