Over a career spanning 23 years (1952-1975), Hanif Mohammad made nearly 4,000 Test runs at an average of 43.98, and over 17,000 first-class runs at an average of 52.38. His 12 Test centuries include two in the same match (111 and 104 versus England at Dhaka), making him the first Pakistani to achieve this rare feat. After one of his other famous knocks — 187 not out against England at Lord’s in 1967 — Wisden honoured him as one of its Five Cricketers of the Year.
Hanif’s greatest knock was his mammoth 337 against WI @ Bridgetown in 1958 when he batted for almost 2.5 days to save the game for Pakistan. Note the huge discrepancy between Pakistan’s first and second innings scores!!
A year later he made 499 in a first-class match in Karachi, which eclipsed Don Bradman’s 452 and remained a record for many years until Brian Lara bettered it with 501* in 1994.
Little master’s epic knock
“The task before them was a huge one. It was not even halfway through the third day and this was a Test stretching over six days. It would take a monumental feat of endurance if they were to come out of this ordeal unscathed. If any batsman of the time was capable of such a feat, it would be Hanif, the second of the famous four Mohammad brothers, who represented their country with such distinction.
The man originally dubbed `The Little Master’ was known to possess massive powers of concentration. Now every ounce of those powers would be required. Hanif did not let his countrymen down. By the close of the third day Pakistan had responded well to the challenge to reach 162 for one, the indomitable opener batting on 61. His stand with wicket-keeper Imtiaz (91), worth 152, did much to blunt Windies’ ferocious bowling attack. Still, there were three days to go.
Gilchrist’s fiery temperament, extreme pace and dodgy action all made him a terrifying prospect. It took a sound piece of advice from Walcott to Hanif — never try hooking Gilchrist — that persuaded the opener to sway out of the line of the bouncers rather than try to hook or duck. “I was concentrating hard. The heat was exhausting and Gilchrist menacing. I was taking as much strike as possible and was successful in swaying away from the fearsome bouncers,” wrote Hanif of his epic innings. In fact, such was the heat that layers of skin were peeling off beneath his eyes as he batted on and on and on.
Another century stand followed, this time 112 for the second wicket with Alimuddin. When Alimuddin was out for 37 at 264 for 2, there was still plenty of work to be done. Hanif did the lion’s share. But he received tremendous support from debutant Saeed Ahmed (65) and elder brother Wazir (35). It meant the first four wickets all produced century stands with Hanif standing like a rock.
Even as they ended the fifth and penultimate day at 525 for three (Hanif on 270) and with the threat of an innings defeat now averted, a draw was still not a sure thing. Hanif had batted through the whole of the fourth day in scoring exactly 100 and then the fifth while adding 109 to his total. It certainly made for tedious viewing. But there was a job on hand — saving the Test — and Hanif was the saviour for his side.
At the tea break on the final day, his task had been achieved. But on 334 there was one more landmark to be crossed — Len Hutton’s world record of 364 set in 1938. But that couldn’t be achieved. Hanif fell three runs later, caught behind off medium pacer Denis Atkinson, his only reward for 62 overs of hard toil.
Captain Kardar immediately declared the innings at 657 for 8 — still the highest by a side following on. West Indies batted for 11 overs for 28 for no loss — their target was 185. Who would have guessed this outcome of the match a few days earlier when the Pakistani batting had crumbled in the first innings?”
West Indies 579 for nine decl. (C. C. Hunte 142, E. D. Weekes 197, O. G. Smith 78, G. S. Sobers 52, C. L. Walcott 43, Mahmood Hussain 4-153, Fazal Mahmood 3-145) and 28 for no loss drew with Pakistan 106 (R. Gilchrist 4-32, O. G. Smith 3-23) and 657 for eight decl. (Hanif Mohammad 337, Imtiaz Ahmed 91, Saeed Ahmed 65, Alimuddin 37, Wazir Mohammad 35).