The hat-trick that moved India's PM: Revisiting Azharuddin's 37th anniversary of three straight Test tons

By Qaiser Mohammad Ali, News9Live.com, Feb 1, 2022

After remaining unbeaten on 98 at the end of the first day, a relaxed Mohammed Azharuddin slept early that evening while just a few kilometres away in Kanpur, a diehard fan Mohammed Meraj Shamsi, aged 37, kept twisting and turning in his bed the entire night. When it became too much to bear for the bag manufacturer, he called up Azharuddin early next morning at the Indian team hotel and virtually pleaded with him to complete his century that day, February 1, 1985.

After the first day's play Azharuddin received many calls, and all had only one request: score at least two more runs. A century would make him the proprietor of a unique record – three consecutive centuries in Tests since debut, a feat that no one had attained in 108 years of Test cricket. With mobile phones still 10 years away from being introduced in India, calls to cricketers used to be transferred to their hotel rooms without ado.

Having burst on to the Indian cricket scene like a dazzling star, just two months earlier, and having become only the fourth batsman ever, after Bill Ponsford, Doug Walters, and Alvin Kallicharan, to score two tons in his career's first two Tests, history beckoned the wristy magician Azharuddin – no wonder his fans were anxious.

Green Park was pregnant with expectation and nervousness, though Azharuddin and his father Azizuddin in far-off Hyderabad were not. Will he get those two runs as India needed a win to square the five-Test series against England who were leading 2-1?

Azharuddin slept early that evening, and slept well, after attending to those anxious fan calls. In the fourth over of the second morning, Azharuddin played pacer Neil Foster off his legs behind square for two to climb the unscaled peak in the 1,011th match of Test history.

"I wasn't aware of the impending record. I came to know about it only after I returned unbeaten on 98 on the first day, when people started talking about it. I was only interested in going there and batting. I was not into records etc., anyway," the 58-year-old Azharuddin told News9 in an exclusive interview on the 37th anniversary of his record. 

"I was extremely fortunate to score those three hundreds on the trot. For me, that was more important than thinking of anything else. Playing for India at that moment was an important thing for me," said the stylish batsman known for mastering the on-side. 

In his first two Tests, in Calcutta and Madras, Azharuddin had batted at No.5. However, in the fifth and final Test of the series in Kanpur he and Dilip Vengsarkar, who was batting at No.3, were told to swap positions. "I was happy to bat at that position because it was a big responsibility for me, replacing Dilip bhai at No.3 where he had done so well," he said. 

With Ian Botham opting out of the tour and Graham Gooch and John Emburey serving a ban for visiting the ostracised South Africa with a rebel team, David Gower's English attack in Kanpur comprised Norman Cowans, Neil Foster, Pat Pocock, Phil Edmonds, and Chris Cowdrey. "It was a good attack. The ball was moving in Kanpur; even in Calcutta, where I scored a century on Test debut in December, the ball had moved a lot. They should have played pacer Richard Ellison in Kanpur. But they opted for two spinners [Pocock and Edmonds]. Since I was in good form, runs were easy to come," Azharuddin averred. 

The five-foot-eleven batsman distinctly remembers the conditions at Green Park. "The wicket was double paced. That year, even in February it was very, very cold. Kanpur being an industrial area, there was so much smog and in winter it used to become dark and gloomy during the day. However, since I was in good form I continued to bat well," Azharuddin recalled. 

"There were a lot of trees in and around the stadium and sometimes it was hard to spot the ball while fielding." 

At what stage did Azharuddin start believing he would complete the century? "I was playing very freely, though not at a fast pace as it was not easy to score runs against the moving ball. Maybe around 80, I realised that I could score another century. At the same time, I didn't put myself under pressure. Maybe that is why everything went off smoothly," he reasoned. 

As the English bowlers, particularly Edmonds, placed the shackles around the batsmen, Azharuddin was tied down – he scored just eight runs in the final hour on the first day. He admits if he had accelerated up the run rate, he could have completed the ton on day one itself. "When I was on 98 on the first day, maybe I should have accelerated the scoring," he rues. 

Nevertheless, reaching the coveted mark was a "very happy feeling" for Azharuddin. "A lot of people from the crowd ran on to the ground to congratulate me. It was an incredibly special occasion. However, the most important thing was that after I got out, I received a call from Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. I had to walk through the ground during lunch time to reach the press box to receive the call," remembering the moment proudly. 

"The Prime Minister said, 'very well done,' and that 'you have made every citizen of India proud.' He wished me good luck. For me, that was the icing on the cake. I had scored a hundred, fine. But the call from the Prime Minister was an immensely proud moment," he said. After that, Azharuddin received many congratulatory calls and attended many felicitation functions. 

Azharuddin spoke to his father and other family members in the evening. "We didn't even have a telephone at home at the time. So, I don't know where I spoke to my father. He said: 'Bahut achcha khele, bete (well played, son)'," he still remembers. "I've always been thankful to the Almighty Allah that everything went off well. I worked hard and he gave me the results. I remembered my late [maternal] grandfather on the occasion. My parents prayed for me while all the players in the Indian team and coaches were extremely helpful." 

Azharuddin's father said he used to listen to the commentary on a small transistor. "I was not nervous when he was unbeaten on 98. I had trust and faith in Allah. When Azhar returned to Hyderabad and was driven in an open jeep from the airport to our home in Vittalwadi, our gali was chock-a-block with people," Azizuddin, 92, told News9. 

In Kanpur, Azharuddin scored 122 (374 minutes, 270 balls, 16x4s) and 54 not out. Earlier, he had slammed 110 (443 minutes, 324 balls, 10x4s) on his debut in the third Test in Calcutta, and 48 and 105 in the fourth in Madras, for the series aggregate of 439 runs. 

Thirty-seven years after that magical knock, Azharuddin says he was living a dream. "It was like a dream run, a fairy tale. Everything was looking quite easy," he reminisces. 

Shamsi was so mesmerised by Azharuddin's magical batting that he formed an 'Azharuddin Lovers' Club' in Kanpur and felicitated him several times. "The reason we formed the club was that we were greatly impressed by Azhar's stylish batting. Also, he was a genuinely nice and friendly person. He endeared himself to his fans, and his admirers in Kanpur loved him much," 74-year-old Shamsi tells News9. 

But the night of January 31 was most uncomfortable for Shamsi. "I spent the night very uneasily in bed, and just couldn't stop myself from calling him up the next morning in his hotel room. I told him about my condition the previous night and requested him to complete his century at any cost. He eventually did it," he recalled. 

Thus, a long-lasting bond between Azharuddin and his Kanpur fans was established. "I went to Green Park and met him after he established the record. We became close friends, though he was much younger to me. He invited me to his marriage, which I attended in Hyderabad. I presented him with a wall clock with a unique dial," Shamsi said. 

Businessman Anas Baqai, a former Kanpur-based journalist, also fell for Azharuddin's stylish batting. "Like there are many fans of Virat Kohli today, there was a different hysteria about Azhar bhai at that time. He supported the fans' club and used to send messages through letters. We felt proud to be members of the club. When he won the Arjuna Award (1986) and Padma Shri (1988), he was specially invited to Kanpur and felicitated," he recalled. 

Shamsi also remembers the occasion distinctly. "I told Azhar to attend our function and then proceed to Delhi to receive the award. Our club presented him Rs.21,000 as a token of love and appreciation. The club also organised a cricket tournament for some time," he informed. "Whenever Azhar would visit Kanpur, he would come to my house and have a meal. Being a Hyderabadi, he loved biryani, chap, roasted chicken and sewain (sweets)." 

Azharuddin went on to play 99 Tests and score 6,215 runs, comprising 22 centuries. Interestingly, he played three Tests in Kanpur and scored a century in each one. Of the 48 venues he has played Test matches at, he scored 543 runs in Kanpur. Only at Eden Gardens, Calcutta, has he scored more runs (860) and tons (5). 

"Kanpur has always been incredibly special. I scored three centuries in three Tests there. So, it is a special place for me, and I really enjoyed playing there," points out Azharuddin. It was also at Green Park that he registered his top Test score – 199, against Sri Lanka in 1986.

(This interview was published on News9Live website on February 1, 2022)