The Best of Tests: A Javed Miandad triple that could have been

Test cricket mirrors life. The ebbs and flows of the format have given birth to some of the most breath-taking cricketing epics. A Cricket World Series, The Best of Tests, highlights the finest of these spectacles.

Match Summary

4th Test, India tour of Pakistan at Hyderabad (Sindh), Jan 14-19 1983

Pakistan 581/3d

India 189 & 273 (f/o)

Result - Pakistan won by an innings and 119 runs

Player of the Match - Javed Miandad

Captain Imran Khan made a surprise move when he decided to summon his batsmen back with Javed Miandad unbeaten on 280 against India in Hyderabad (Sindh) in 1983. No other captain in the history of the game has declared with a teammate so close to a triple century.

In the fourth Test of the India tour of Pakistan in 1982-83, the home team was right on top. Mudassar Nazar had scored a mammoth 231 off 444 deliveries, batting 627 minutes.

It was then time for Javed Miandad to go a step further. Miandad batted for 696 minutes for an unbeaten 280-run knock which came off 460 deliveries, including 19 fours and 1 six. 

When Imran signalled the batsmen to return to the dressing room, declaring the innings, Miandad stood shell shocked at the crease. If that was not enough, opposition captain Sunil Gavaskar rubbed salt on his wounds, telling him that he would have never had the audacity to declare the innings with one of his teammates so close to a triple century.

As it turned out, India were bowled out for 189 in the first innings and 273 in the second innings, following on. Imran Khan picked up 8 in the match while Sarfaraz Nawaz bagged 7 as Pakistan registered a win by an innings in 199 runs.

But the match is still remembered for the Miandad-Imran episode. Miandad never scored a triple century in his career. This was the closest that he ever got.

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