Abid Ali eyeing to equal Mohammad Azharuddin’s Test ton hat-trick record in Rawalpindi Test

Pakistan opener Abid Ali slammed back-to-back hundreds in the first two Tests of his career and now he is aiming to equal former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin’s record of scoring centuries in each of his first three Tests. Ali hit 109 not out and 174 in the recent two-Test series against Sri Lanka at home and is looking forward to equal Azhar’s rare record in the upcoming Test match against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi starting February 7

Ali was adjudged the man of the match in both the Tests against the islanders in Rawalpindi and Karachi and bagged the man of the series award as well by amassing 321 runs.

Last year, the right-hand batsman scored a century in his debut ODI against Australia in Dubai and become the first male cricketer to hit a century each in ODI and Test debuts. He, however, missed out on playing in the World Cup in England.

Azharuddin slammed three consecutive hundreds against England in 1984-85

“My aim is to continue my form and score a century to match the record of Azharuddin in Test cricket. I am focused and determined to go on the field with a strong mindset,” Abid told the media in Lahore as quoted by the Dawn. “It took quite a long for me to make Test debut but I am thankful to God that I made the most of a maiden call in the longer format of the game,” he said, adding: “I didn’t think of such achievements but I was focused to play my game and I succeeded in it.”

Abid made it to this country’s Test side after coming up with a good show in domestic cricket and for Pakistan ‘A’ team and is now looking to make the most of the good form.

“It took quite a long for me to make Test debut but I am thankful to God that I made the most of a maiden call in the longer format of the game,” he said. “I didn’t think of such achievements but I was focused to play my game and I succeeded in it.”

Azharuddin, who played in 99 Tests between 1984 and 2000, scored 110, 105 and 122 in his first three Tests against England at home in 1984-85. Another former India captain Sourav Ganguly came close to touching Azhar when he hit hundreds in his first two Tests in England in 1996 but fell for a fifty in the third against Australia.

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