Azhar Ali: Pakistan’s most prolific top-three batter

Former Pakistani cricketer Azhar Ali. Born on February 19, 1985, his Urdu name is. Pakistan’s Test and ODI captain. Ali made his Pakistan Test debut at Lord’s in July 2010. Against Australia. Ali bats right-handed and bowls leg-breaks. He struck 302 against West Indies in October 2016, becoming the first player to hit a century, double century, and triple century in a Day and Night Test Match. In November 2019, David Warner scored 335 unbeaten in a day/night Test match, breaking his record.

Click Here for IPLT20 Records: IPL T20 RECORDS     Click Here for Official T20 World Cup Site: News on T20 World Cup

He played for Khan Research Laboratories, Lahore Eagles, Lions, Qalandars, Pakistan A, and Huntly in Pakistan (Scotland). Azhar led the Lahore Qalandars in the first Pakistan Super League. He received a 2018–19 central contract from the Pakistan Cricket Board in August 2018. 33 athletes received such contracts, including him (PCB). He quit ODI cricket on November 1, 2018. He announced on December 16, 2022, that he would retire from test cricket after the England home series.

Professional life:

Ali started playing cricket at 13 and bowled. He made his first-class debut at 16 in 2002. After joining Khan Research Laboratories, he batted at number 8. He joined Huntly Cricket Club in Scotland at 19. He improved as a batsman and batted first for Huntly. 2004–2007. He played for Khan Research Laboratories after returning to Pakistan. He hit 50.25 with 503 runs in 2007-2008. In 2008-2009, he scored 788 runs at 35, including 99 and 25 in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy final. He played for Pakistan A in Australia and Sri Lanka due to his cricket skills.

Ali was named captain of the Lahore Qalandars team for the first Pakistan Super League season in 2016. In the Tournament, he played in 7 games and got 180 runs. On July 16, 2018, Ali signed with Somerset for the last seven games of the County Championship season. He was a replacement for Matt Renshaw, who was hurt and couldn’t play. Ali then made a hundred in his first game for Somerset, which was against Worcestershire. He was put on Central Punjab’s team for the 2019–20 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy tournament in September 2019.

He was kept on Central Punjab’s team for the 2020–21 domestic season in August 2020. In February 2022, Worcestershire hired him to take the place of Matthew Wade in the 2022 county championship.

International career:

He moved back to Scotland in 2010 so he could play for the Huntly club. At the same time, the Pakistan cricket team was planning to go to England, and he was chosen to be part of the Test squad.

Starting with England and Australia

After Younus Khan and Mohammad Yousuf were kicked off the Pakistani team in 2010, Ali was put in their place for the July 2010 Test series against Australia and England. He and Umar Amin both played their first game against Australia in July. Ali scored 17 runs in his first game before Tim Paine caught him from behind. He made 42 runs in the second innings, but Pakistan lost the game by 150 runs. In the second Test match against Australia, he scored 30 runs in the first innings and then made his first fifty in the second.

In November 2010, the South Africa series began

Ali stayed on the Test team for the November series against South Africa. He got half centuries in both of Pakistan’s innings in the first Test, and his partnership with Younus Khan in the fourth innings kept Pakistan from losing when they were trying to reach an impossible 451 runs. In the first innings of the second Test, he scored 90, which was the highest score. In the second innings, he and the captain, Misbah-ul-Haq, played well again, and they stayed unbeaten after facing 135 balls to secure another tie.

Tour of New Zealand in January 2011

The selectors chose Ali for the two-match Test series against New Zealand in January 2011 because he had done well against South Africa and had played against England and Australia before. The young Pakistani batsman Asad Shafiq also got a spot on the team. Ali only got 18 runs in the first innings of the first match, and he didn’t have to bat in the second innings because Pakistan won by 10 wickets. Ali scored his sixth half-century in the second game of the series.

Tour of Sri Lanka in June 2012

Ali was chosen for the 2012 Sri Lankan tour for both the ODI and Test teams. He did well in the ODIs, scoring 96 in the second one and 81* in the fourth one. He was the second Pakistani after Saeed Anwar to carry his bat. At the end of the series, he had scored the most runs for Pakistan. Ali made his 4th Test century and ended the first innings of the 2nd Test at SSC with 157 runs. Ali kept up his good form and scored 136 in the second innings to make it two centuries in a row. Because of his important innings, he moved into the Top 10 of the ICC Test Rankings for the first time. He joined Graeme Smith on 753 points, which put them both in the Top 10.

ICC Champions Trophy in June 2017

In the game against England, Azhar Ali and Fakhar Zaman put together 118 runs, which was the most for Pakistan in the history of the Champions Trophy and the most in an ODI since 2009. Then, in the final against India, they scored another impressive 128 runs. Pakistan won by 180 runs, which is the most any team has ever won by in an ICC tournament final.

South Africa will visit Pakistan in January 2021

In January 2021, he was named to Pakistan’s 17-person squad for their historic home Test series against South Africa. Azhar Ali got to 51 in the first Test before he was out.

Captaincy

After Misbah-ul-Haq stopped playing ODIs, it was hard for the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to find someone to replace him. The people who might have run were either too inconsistent or had problems with following rules. Sarfraz Ahmad gave the selectors a lot to think about, but in the end, the board chose Azhar Ali, who hadn’t played ODI cricket in almost two years when he was chosen. Even though many people didn’t agree with this choice, Ali seemed set on putting the Pakistani team on top.

International centuries of Azhar Ali:

He has scored 100 runs or more in a single innings 19 times in Test matches and 3 times in One Day International (ODI) games. In July 2010, Ali played his first Test match against Australia at Lord’s in London. In October 2016, against the West Indies at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai, he got 302*, which was his best score in a Test. Ali played his first ODI game against Ireland at the Civil Service Cricket Club in Belfast in January 2013. In May 2015, against Zimbabwe at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, he had a score of 102, which was his best. He has never hit a hundred in a Twenty20 International (T20I) game.

Records and achievements:

• He was the first player in international cricket to get a hundred with a white ball, a double hundred with a red ball, and a triple hundred with a pink ball.
• He is the only Pakistani batsman to score two hundred in one year (2016).
• He is the only Pakistani batsman to score a century in a Test in Australia.
• The only visitor to score a 200 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground was an opener.
• Only player in the UAE to make $300,000.
• Azhar Ali has reached a hundred in 19 Tests and 3 ODIs.

HIGHEST % OF TEST INNINGS OF 100-PLUS BALLS SINCE AZHAR ALI’S DEBUT*

TABLE WITH 4 COLUMNS AND 6 ROWS. CURRENTLY DISPLAYING ROWS 1 TO 6.
Batter	Inns batted	100-ball inns	%
AZHAR ALI	178	63	35.4
ASAD SHAFIQ	128	44	34.4
CHETESHWAR PUJARA	166	57	34.3
STEVEN SMITH	158	54	34.2
KRAIGG BRATHWAITE	156	53	34.0
KANE WILLIAMSON	154	52	33.8

HIGHEST BALLS PER DISMISSAL RATIO IN TESTS SINCE AZHAR ALI’S DEBUT*

TABLE WITH 4 COLUMNS AND 5 ROWS. CURRENTLY DISPLAYING ROWS 1 TO 5.
Batter	Inns	Balls faced	Balls per Dismissal
STEVEN SMITH	158	15475	112.1
YOUNIS KHAN	101	9586	107.7
KANE WILLIAMSON	154	14378	102.7
AZHAR ALI	178	16961	101.6
CHETESHWAR PUJARA	166	15716	100.7

HIGHEST BATTING AVERAGES IN TESTS BETWEEN OCT 2014 AND SEPT 2017 (MIN: 1500 RUNS)

TABLE WITH 6 COLUMNS AND 5 ROWS. CURRENTLY DISPLAYING ROWS 1 TO 5.
Batter	Mat	Runs	Best	Avg	100s / 50s
STEVEN SMITH	36	4009	215	71.58	16 / 15
KANE WILLIAMSON	27	2739	242*	66.80	10 / 12
VIRAT KOHLI	31	2803	235	59.63	11 / 5
AZHAR ALI	27	2748	302*	57.25	9 / 11
CHETESHWAR PUJARA	27	2235	202	55.87	7 / 10

HIGHEST % OF TEST INNINGS AS AN OPENER BY NON-OPENERS*

TABLE WITH 5 COLUMNS AND 5 ROWS. CURRENTLY DISPLAYING ROWS 1 TO 5.
Batter	Mats	Inns	Inns as opener	%
DAVID BOON	107	190	63	33.2
ALEC STEWART	133	235	77	32.8
AZHAR ALI	96	178	37	20.8
COLIN COWDREY	114	188	38	20.2
BRENDON MCCULLUM	101	176	35	19.9