Saeed Anwar-the legend
An aggressive left handed batsman and former Pakistani opener; Saeed Anwar is recognized as the pioneer of left handed batting in Pakistan. He’s one of those few batsmen who were capable of giving electrifying starts to their team with their stylish and aggressive batting. Anwar was a nightmare for bowlers around the world along with being an excellent human being. He was one of the best openers in the world with his tremendous ability to time the ball. The left handed batsman was a class player who knew how to keep up the scoring rate by playing classical cricketing shots. Saeed at his best was capable of destroying any world class bowling attack. His batting was an absolute delight to watch!
This exceptionally talented human being was born in Karachi on September 6th 1968. Saeed Anwar was a computer engineer by profession. He graduated from NED University, Karachi in 1989. As he was planning to go abroad for further studies, he got an opportunity to play international cricket for Pakistan.
He made his debut in international cricket on 1st January, 1989 versus the West Indies. Within no time, Saeed Anwar became a rising star due to his success in the international arena. He made his way in the ODI team as a specialist opener after practicing in the domestic cricket. His dedication and hard work combined with his excellent timing and execution made him the best opener to play for Pakistan. He was an attacking batsman with a tremendous eye and superb wrist flicks.
On 23rd Novmber, 1990, he made his Test debut in international cricket. Even in the test matches, Anwar used to score quickly all over the ground. He holds an excellent test match record along with his reputation of being the best ODI opener. He has played 55 test matches, scoring 4058 runs with an average of 47.20. He also holds the honor of having the highest batting average against Australia in Test cricket.
Saeed Anwer used to get along with his team members very well and was indeed an excellent team man. Under the captaincy of Wasim Akram, he was a permanent member of the one day international squad. He was good on both sides of the wicket and was a clean striker of the ball. This dynamic opening batsman was so persistent that he used to tire the bowlers with his solid defense. Moreover, he adapted with all sorts of playing conditions too. Be it the slow and low tracks of Pakistan, the spinning pitches of India or the quick tracks from Australia, Anwar had the knack to score runs anywhere and everywhere.
Saeed Anwar had all the shots in the book. He scored runs against all teams and opposition bowlers. Anwar was very consistent with his performances and was thus extremely reliable for his captain. Out of 247 one day international matches, he has scored 8,824 runs with an average batting rate of 39.21. He played his last ODI against Zimbabwe in 2003.
He has scored twenty ODI centuries in record time. His world record for the highest score ever of 194 runs in a one day International match has recently been broken by Sachin Tendulkar from India. The most cherished record of Saeed Anwar is there no more. Sachin Tendulkar smashed a double century against South Africa in a recently concluded series in India. But as they say, records are made to be broken. Anwar has also scored two or more centuries on four occasions. In 1997, he was also awarded the “Wisden Cricketer of the Year”. He has played many memorable innings that won the game for his team and are worth watching!
Leaving behind a long lasting impression of a top class Pakistani batsman, Saeed Anwar retired on August 15, 2003. He was truly one of the most prolific batsmen of all times and the world will value his achievements in cricket for a long time to come in the future.
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