“35 Overs Ho Gaye Ne”: Shoaib Malik Reveals How Zulfiqar Babar Motivated Himself During Marathon Abu Dhabi Test In 2015

Only specialist Pakistani spinner to play the marathon Abu Dhabi Test against England in 2015, Zulfiqar Babar had bowled as many as 72 overs on a pitch which had all the hallmarks of a well-maintained road. Fourth-highest number of overs bowled by a Pakistani bowler in a Test innings, Babar had bowled less overs than only Saqlain Mushtaq (74), Hasseb Ahsan (84) and Fazal Mahmood (85.2).

Part of A Sports’ ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 show named The Pavilion, former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik recalled a hilarious incident from a Test which saw him making a comeback to the format after more than half-a-decade.

Having played around 100 overs, England were 275/1 without losing a wicket for 60 overs. With England captain Alastair Cook and batter Ian Bell batting with controllable ease, UAE’s scorching heat had made it extremely hard for the fielding team to remain on the ground in the anticipation of a wicket. Malik, who himself bowled 35 overs in the first innings, explained how a worn out Babar motivated himself hilariously.

“Main mid-on pe khada tha. Woh ball ghoomaate-ghoomaate apne aap ko kya keh raha hai, ‘Hor tu kinne over karayega? 35 over ho gaye ne. Ik vi out ni kitta. Baad ch na kahi kaptaan ne tainu hor bowling nahin ditti‘ [I was standing at mid-on. While spinning the ball, Babar asks himself, ‘How many more overs will you bowl? You have already bowled 35 overs without picking a single wicket. Don’t say afterwards that the captain didn’t give you an opportunity’],” Malik told A Sports.

While Babar registered bowling figures of 72-17-183-1, it was a special match for Malik as well. Post scoring a maiden Test double century, he was dismissed for a duck in the second innings. In what was the sixth such instance, Malik’s score of 245 is the highest for a player who was got out without contributing in the second innings.

While Pakistan had scored 523/8d at a healthy run rate of 3.45, England’s 598/9d in 206 overs had come at less than three runs per over. Readers must note that it was the 34th instance of both teams scoring in excess of 500 runs in the first innings. Without downplaying the batters’ effort, it is to be noted that the same was made possible chiefly because of a pitch which offered absolutely nothing to the bowlers.

Misbah-ul-Haq Recounts Hilarious Memory Of Marathon Abu Dhabi Test

With Pakistan winning four of their last five Tests at this ground before this match, then-captain Misbah-ul-Haq had asked for a turning track. However, the sight of an archetype flat pitch on the day of the match had shocked him.

Expressing reservations about the pitch to the pitch curator, Misbah was part of a funny conversation which saw the the former being hell-bent on its strong possibility to turn. As a result, Pakistani cricketers and the curator shared a joke throughout the match around his ‘turn toh hoga [Ball will turn]‘ statement.

“Pitch pe jab main gaya to sheesha pitch. Maine kaha, ‘Yaar, yeh kya banaya hai tumne?’ ‘Turn to Hoga’ (curator tells Misbah). Maine kaha, ‘Dasvein din hoega? Paanch din te nahin hoga’ [When I saw the pitch, it was flat as a mirror. I asked the curator, ‘What have you done?’ ‘It will turn’, he responded. I said, ‘Will it turn on Day 10 as it wouldn’t surely within five days?’],“ Misbah mentioned.

With England scoring 569/8 at Stumps, Day 4, the fate of the match was heavily inclined towards a draw. However, the proceedings which took place on Day 5 came across as a source of astonishment. With the curator’s belief finally turning into reality, as many as 18 wickets had fallen on the final day of the match.

Having almost chased down a 99-run target on the back of completely altering their batting order, England were denied a surprising victory and Pakistan an embarrassing loss due to bad light.