Happy Birthday Zaheer Abbas
The legendary cricketer of Pakistan Zaheer Abbas (Happy Birthday Zaheer Abbas) is celebrating his 75th birthday today.
Abbas was born on July 12, 1947 in Sialkot, Punjab in British India and is known for his unimaginary shots and his run scoring ability.
During his international career span of 16 years, he amassed 5062 runs in 124 test innings at an average of 44.10, including 12 centuries and 20 half-centuries.
While during the newest format of that time, ODI cricket, Abbas featured in 62 matches and has scored 2572 runs with the help of seven hundreds and 13 half-centuries.
Abbas was the important part of Pakistan’s team and his success his not only limited in the small series, he did equally well against the big opponents that later made him a legend of his country.
When Zaheer Abbas made his international debut?
He made his international debut against New Zealand in October 1969, and he cemented his place in a star-studded Pakistan side, right after his 274 runs knock in his second test match of career. The right-hand batter instantly became everyone’s favourite due to his outstanding shot playing ability and skills to provide strength to the batting line-up.
Abbas was given the chance to represent Pakistan in ODIs five years after his Test debut. He became the first batsman in ODI history to record three straight century.
In terms of FC (first-class) cricket, he is known as the Asian Bradman since the domestic cricket brought out the best in him. He has amassed 34843 runs at a 51.54 average in 459 FC games, including 158 half-centuries and 108 centuries.
In his second test match, Abbas played a memorable inning of 274 runs against England. Batting at number 3, he steered the Pakistani innings to a mammoth total of 608/7 before the declaration. In reply, England had to face a follow on, and the match ended in a draw.
Abbas noteworthy 274-run inning against England in his second test match remained the highlight of his international career. With that knock, he led Pakistan’s innings, while batting at position three, to a massive score of 608/7 before the declaration.
The high score put England under pressure and they faced follow-on, later they their batter survived 90.5 overs to draw the test.
Zaheer Abbas Records and Achievements
Abbas added several achievements to his portfolio, including being the first batter from Pakistan to reach 4,000 and 5,000 runs and the first Asian to reach 100 first-class centuries.
The first batter to hit three consecutive centuries in one-day cricket.
In terms of all-time rankings, he reached a rating high of 931, placing him second. A peak of 900 on the charts has only ever been reached by 12 players.
Aside from Javed Miandad, he was the only other Pakistani batsman with more than 5000 Test runs at the time of his retirement in 1985.
