‘Should I be happy about scoring 329 runs or be sad about not scoring those 8 runs’ – Inzamam-ul-Haq on not being able to break Hanif Mohammad’s record

Back in January 1958, Hanif Mohammad churned out 337 against the West Indies. His 970-minute vigil at the Bridgetown in Barbados helped Pakistan save the Test match after conceding a first-innings lead of 473 runs. After more than six decades, Hanif’s score still remains to be the highest among Pakistan batsmen.

But in 2002, Inzamam-ul-Haq came ever so close to breaking the record. At the Gaddafi Stadium, the former Pakistan captain, got 329 before getting out to leggie Brooke Walker. For the 10th wicket, Inzamam added 31 runs with Danish Kaneria before falling short.

I would have carried on if I had a proper batter at the other end: Inzamam-ul-Haq

Recalling the moments, Haq said that due to Kaneria’s lack of confidence, he started playing the big shots. He said that his approach would have been different if he had a proper batter by his side.

“I remember asking the last man if he can hang around for a while. The expression on his face pretty much told me that it was all down to me. He wasn’t confident at all. So, I started going for the big hits and eventually got caught near the boundary line. If I would have had a proper batsman at the other end, I would surely have carried on,” Inzamam was quoted as saying on his YouTube channel.

Despite not surpassing Hanif’s ginormous numbers, Inzamam has no regrets. Rather than focussing on the grief of falling short, he preferred to enjoy the triple century that helped Pakistan with the match in Lahore by an innings and 324 runs.

“I honestly didn’t have any ambitions that I would break Hanif bhai’s record. Breaking a fellow Pakistani’s record never really attracted me. So, when I went in for the post-match press conference someone asked me how sad I was to miss the record. I told them ‘should I be happy about scoring 329 runs or be sad about not scoring those 8 runs’?” he added.

Overall, in his career, the now 50-year-old churned out 20,580 runs with 35 centuries and 129 half-centuries. He hung his boots after Pakistan’s home Tests versus South Africa in 2007.