Miandad praises record-equalling Inzamam by AFP

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Ground:	Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad
Player:	Javed Miandad, Inzamam-ul-Haq
Event:	England in Pakistan 2005/06

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DateLine: 21st November 2005

 

Former Pakistani batting great Javed Miandad on Monday congratulated Inzamam-ul-Haq on equalling his Test centuries record, saying the current captain would go on to set more milestones.

 

Inzamam scored a brilliant 109 to equal Miandad's Pakistani record of 23 Test hundreds on the second day of the second Test against England in Fasialabad. His century helped the hosts amass 462 in the first innings.

 

"I am very happy Inzamam has equalled my record. He had all the time to break more records," Miandad said from Karachi.

 

Inzamam's 23rd hundred came in his 104th Test while Miandad took 124 matches. Pakistan have gone on to win the match on 17 of the last 22 occasions.

 

Miandad said he had known from the start that Inzamam had the talent to make his mark in international cricket.

 

"When Inzamam arrived in international cricket I was convinced he had the talent to go places and he has achieved a lot for the country," Miandad said.

 

Inzamam first grabbed headlines during Pakistan's 1992 World Cup triumph in Australia.

 

Then only 22, he hit a match-winning half-century against New Zealand in the semi-final and a stellar 42 in the final against England to play a key role in Pakistan's overall victory.

 

Miandad, under whom Inzamam made his Test debut at Birmingham during the 1992 tour of England, said he was the key member of the Pakistani batting lineup.

 

"He has travelled a long distance to become Pakistan's lynchpin in batting," said Miandad.

 

Inzamam, who has so far scored 7,855 runs, is 977 short of Miandad's Test aggregate of 8,832. He is also the top Pakistani run-getter in one-day internationals, with 10,971 in 337 matches.

 

India's Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, and Sri Lankan Sanath Jayasuriya are the only other batsmen to have completed 10,000 runs in one-day cricket.

(Article: Copyright © 2005 AFP)