Mushtaq Mohammad is one of the most underrated batters in Pakistan history. He does not get the level of respect that he deserves. Mushtaq Mohammad is a player who has played 57 Test Matches for Pakistan. He has scored 3643 runs at an average of 39.17. He has made 10 Hundreds in Test Cricket as well as a double hundred. He has also played in 10 ODIs for Pakistan in which he has made 209 runs. He has also taken 79 Wickets in Test Cricket which Includes 3 Five Wicket Hauls.
Let’s look at the Top 5 Best Innings of Mushtaq Mohammad in Test Cricket
1) 201 vs New Zealand (1973)
This is his highest score in Test Cricket. He has hit one double hundred in his career. This was the first innings of the match. He hit 20 fours in this innings meaning he made 80 runs in boundaries. He ran for 121 of his runs and he was striking at 65 which was very good at the time. Pakistan made 507 in the first innings. Mushtaq Mohammad also took 7 wickets in this test match which included 5 wickets for 49 runs in the third innings. Pakistan won this match by an innings and 166 runs.
2) 157 vs England (1973)
The year 1973 was a very good year for Mushtaq Mohammad. In this match against England he gave another all round performance for Pakistan. He first took 4 wickets in the first England innings which included Dennis Amiss, Tony Greig and others. Then in the first Pakistan innings he stood out with the bat as well. He made 157 runs with the bat. He hit 17 fours in this innings meaning 68 runs in boundaries. He ran for 89 runs in this brilliant innings. Mushtaq Mohammad had a strike rate of 44.67 in this innings.
3) 123 vs West Indies (1975)
This is the 3rd best batting performance in the career of Mushtaq Mohammad. This was against the West Indies in 1975. The West Indies bowling had Andy Roberts and he absolutely smashed him. Mushtaq Mohammad had made 27 runs in the first innings as well and this hundred was in the second Pakistan batting innings. This was a signal to the world that Mushtaq Mohammad was not going anywhere.
4) 121 and 56 vs West Indies (1977)
This was against the best West Indies team in 1977. The bowling attack was Andy Roberts, Colin Croft and Joel Garner. Mushtaq Mohammad hit a magnificent century in the first innings of this test match. He was batting at number 5 and the other Batters in the Pakistan team included Zaheer Abbas, Majid Khan, Haroon Rashid etc. Mushtaq Mohammad did not stop there as in the second Pakistan batting innings he made 56 important Runs. He made a total of 177 runs against the best fast bowling attack in the world. Pakistan won this match by 266 runs. Mushtaq Mohammad took 8 wickets in this match which included 5 wickets for 28 in the first West Indies batting innings and 3 wickets for 69 in the fourth Innings.
5) 101 vs India (1961)
This was his first test hundred and it was against India way back in 1961. This means that the career of Mushtaq Mohammad spanned almost 2 decades. India Batted first in this match and they made 463 in the first innings. Polly Umrigar made 112 runs. For Pakistan it was Mushtaq Mohammad who was batting at number 6 stepped up and he made 101 runs. Pakistan made 286 in their first innings. This was the start of a very good Test Cricket career.
Also Read | Greatest Pakistani Cricketers of all time
