Watch: Against India at Chennai in 1998/99, Shahid Afridi blazed away to his maiden Test hundred to set up one of Pakistan’s most famous wins.

Pakistan were playing their first Test against India since 1988/89, and their first on Indian soil since 1986/87. The tour began amidst political tension, and the first match had to be moved from Delhi to Chennai.

Anil Kumble (6-70) and Javagal Srinath (3-63) bowled out Pakistan for 238, but Saqlain Mushtaq (5-94) and Afridi (3-31) hit back on a deteriorating pitch, and India managed a lead of only 16.

It had been three years since he had registered the fastest ODI hundred, but despite his all-round skills, Afridi was not considered a Test prospect. In his only Test match until then, three months ago, he had taken 5-52 in the first innings of a Test match.

Now he demonstrated what the selectors had been missing out on. The hundred took 134 balls, but coach Javed Miandad, veteran of many an India-Pakistan contest, gestured him to stay put.

In a shade over five hours, Afridi slammed 141 in 191 balls with 21 fours and three sixes.

The most violent of these, a straight four, came off Kumble. The ball was slightly overpitched, almost a yorker. Afridi’s bat descended at great speed, and the ball barely left the ground as it zoomed past Kumble to hit the straight boundary.

When Kumble switched to round the wicket, Afridi slogged him violently into the stands over deep square-leg. He eventually fell when he missed a slog off Venkatesh Prasad (6-33) in a spell where the latter claimed five wickets for no run.

Despite Sachin Tendulkar’s 136 – an innings hailed by many as one of his finest – India fell short by 12 runs, largely due to Saqlain (5-93) and Wasim Akram (3-80).

Afridi finished as one Test cricket’s what-ifs, with 1,716 runs at 36.51 and 48 wickets at 35.60 from 27 matches. For perspective, his batting average was better than Hansie Cronje’s 36.41 and his bowling average was better than Dilruwan Perera’s 35.90.

Watch Shahid Afridi’s maiden Test hundred here:

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