Abdul Qadir: The late leg-spin wizard's 5 best bowling performances
Born on September 15, 1955, in Lahore, Abdul Qadir Khan was known as one of the best leg spinners to have ever graced the game. Coming from the land of ferocious fast bowlers, Qadir turned the world of spin-bowling on its head after making his international cricket debut on December 14, 1977.
Qadir appeared in 67 Test and 104 One Day International matches between 1977 and 1993 and captained Pakistan in five Test matches and two ODIs. He ended his career with 236 wickets in Tests and 132 in ODIs. Qadir has an equally exceptional First-Class record (960 wickets in 209 games) which makes him one of the finest bowlers Pakistan ever produced.
He played important roles in Pakistan's World Cup campaigns in 1983 and 1987 during both of which they made it to the semi-finals, picking up 24 wickets in 13 matches. Apart from that, he was also handy with the bat and had three half-centuries to his name in Test cricket with the highest score of 61. He retired from international cricket on November 2, 1993, after playing his last ODI against Sri Lanka.
Former Pakistan captain Imran Khan called him "One of the greatest leg spinners of all time".
Qadir not only served as a bowler for the Pakistani cricket team as he was also a commentator and the Chief Selector of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for quite some time. Qadir was a willing advisor to youngsters, who mentored fellow countrymen like Mushtaq Ahmed, Danish Kaneria, and Shahid Afridi, as well as Australia's Shane Warne and South Africa's Imran Tahir.
To celebrate the cricketing legend’s career, we will look at the 5 best bowling performances he delivered for his team which made him the best leg-spinner ever produced by Pakistan.
#1 West Indies at Faisalabad - 1986
During the 80s, it was tough to match the bowling line-up of the West Indians. Their fast bowlers wreaked havoc wherever they went and bagged so many wickets that the opponents had no clue how to counter them.
Arriving in Pakistan, the West Indians were met by a formidable Pakistani bowling line-up consisting of Wasim Akram, Imran Khan, Abdul Qadir, and Tauseef Ahmed. When the two teams went to war in the first Test of the series, the Pakistani bowling line-up delivered very well. While Qadir managed to pick up only one wicket in the first innings, he went on to take six wickets in just 9.3 overs in the second innings which saw West Indies bundled out for just 53 runs and helped Pakistan win the match.
The match was important as it displayed Qadir’s quality. He was the most successful spin bowler on the pitch and picked the highest wickets in a match where Wasim Akram bagged 6 wickets in one inning, while Imran Khan and Malcolm Marshall picked up five wickets each.
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