Shoaib Malik’s Test retirement: Five memorable Test moments of Pakistan’s former captain

Malik announced his retirement from Tests following the conclusion of Day Three of the third and final Test at Sharjah.

Shoaib Malik made a shocking announcement following the conclusion of the third day’s play during the third Test between Pakistan and England at Sharjah. The batsman made public his decision to retire from the Test format, which caught the cricket world by surprise including teammate Mohammad Hafeez. Malik may not have had as many talking points in his Test career as he has in One-Day Internationals (ODI), he can still boast of a few moments of pride in the five-day format. Amit Banerjee presents a list of five such moments as a tribute to the experienced campaigner. READ: Shoaib Malik announces Test retirement

In a year that has seen the retirements of quite a few legends, cricket is set to bid goodbye to Shoaib Malik following the conclusion of the third Test between Pakistan and England at Sharjah. Malik, who took his team-mates as well as members of the cricket fraternity by surprise, draws the curtains on what has been a decent run in the five-day format. Since making his Test debut in 2001, Malik has accumulated 1,860 runs at an average of 35, aside from taking 25 wickets.

Over the years, Malik has had some noteworthy performances to his credit, which deserve applause despite not being in the same league as his achievements in the 50-over format. Following are five of his most memorable moments in Test cricket, ranked in chronological order:

1. 4 for 42 vs South Africa at Lahore, 2003-04: The first of the two-Test series saw left-handed batsman Gary Kirsten get viciously hit above his left cheekbone, with the ball going through the helmet grill, to leave him in a bloody mess and retire hurt for that innings. While Akhtar went on to take two more wickets with his fiery pace, it was the other Shoaib that bowled one of his best Test spells to record figures of 17-4-42-4, clearing out most of the lower order.

2. 53 not out vs Sri Lanka at Karachi, 2004-05: It was the final match of the two-Test series, with Pakistan trailing the series after a 201-run defeat in the first Test. Pakistan were set an easy target of 137 courtesy their massive first innings lead of 270. Despite the low target, Pakistan were reduced to 57 for four, with Chaminda Vaas and Rangana Herath running through their top-order.

In came Malik, who played the role of a finisher as he struck six fours and a six during his 60-ball innings of 53, his second Test half-century, to guide Pakistan to a series-levelling six-wicket win with vital support from Abdul Razzaq (35*).

3. 148 not out vs Sri Lanka at Colombo (SSC), 2005-06: Same opponents, this time one-and-a-half years later at the latter’s backyard. Sri Lanka had gained a narrow lead in a low-scoring first innings, and rode on a century by Kumar Sangakkara to set a massive 458-run target for Pakistan. Pakistan needed to bat sensibly in order to draw the first Test of the series, though Muttiah Muralitharan took two wickets to reduce them to 89 for 2 at the end of Day Four.

Malik went on to play one of his finest knocks, batting throughout the course of the following day to help Pakistan secure a draw, with Faisal Iqbal (60) and Inzamam-ul-Haq helping in the effort.

4. 245 vs England at Abu Dhabi, 2015-16: Fast-forward to the year 2015. Following an impressive run in ODIs against Zimbabwe and the likes, Malik was named in Pakistan’s Test squad for the three-match Test series against England in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He finally got to make his first Test appearance in over five years after No. 3 mainstay Azhar Ali was ruled out due to a toe infection.

Boy did he make his comeback innings a big one! Not only did he surpass his previous best score of 148 not out, as mentioned in point number three, he went on to bring up his maiden double-ton to guide Pakistan to a mammoth total of 523, smashing 24 fours and four sixes in his innings of 245. While his innings should definitely rank as one of the greatest comeback innings of all time, it was later eclipsed by Alastair Cook’s majestic 263.

5. 4 for 33 vs England at Sharjah, 2015-16: In the final Test of the same series, which has seen the passage of three days so far, Shoaib Malik managed to grab his career-best figures of 4 for 33, which was instrumental in bowling England out for 306. Malik had failed with the bat since his brilliant double-ton two Tests ago, but had struck early during England’s first innings in the series finale. After removing Moeen Ali early in the innings, he was not given the ball for quite sometime, before getting rid of the lower-order with the help of a supportive pitch.

(Amit Banerjee, a reporter at CricketCountry, takes keen interest in photography, travelling, technology, automobiles, food and, of course, cricket. He can be followed on Twitter via his handle @akb287)

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