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Career
One Day International cricket
Inzamam made his One Day International (ODI) debut in a home series against West Indies in 1991, and made a good start with 20 and 60 in two matches against West Indies, followed by 48, 60, 101, and 117 against Sri Lanka.
Discovered by former Pakistan captain Imran Khan for the 1992 Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, 22-year-old Inzamam was relatively unheard of before the tournament. To the surprise of many he was persevered with throughout the tournament, coming in at various positions in the batting line-up, despite but not being very successful early on. Yet it was his performances at the most crucial stage of the competition that made fans and summarisers take note. Inzamam rose to fame in Pakistan's dramatic semi-final against New Zealand at Auckland. With his side in a precarious position, chasing 262, against an impressive New Zealand side, he hit a fiery 60 from only 37 balls to rescue his side and guide them into the final[1][2]. The innings was regarded as one of the finest World Cup performances and perhaps Inzamam's defining moment, which won him many admirers. His massive six in that match was described by David Lloyd as the shot of the tournament.
Inzamam made an equally vital contribution in the final of the World Cup, scoring 42 off just 35 balls, helping Pakistan reach a score of 249 from a very sluggish start[3]. These innings established Inzamam's billing as a big-game player, although he was unable to replicate his World Cup success in later tournaments.
Career highlights in the ODI form of the game include semi-final knock in 1992 and scoring most fifties in One Day Internationals (83). He also became the second batsman to score 10,000 runs in One-day Internationals (after Sachin Tendulkar) and was named in the World Team XI for both test and One-day Internationals in the 2005 ICC Awards. In his final ODI for Pakistan, playing Zimbabwe in the 2007 Cricket World Cup, he took three catches whilst fielding and, somewhat fittingly, took the last one of the match ending his One Day career.
Credit the photograph to Peter Meade or remove it
To be Continoue
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