Asif Mujtaba
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| Born |
4 November 1967 (age 49) Karachi, Sindh |
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| Batting style | Left-hand bat | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling style | Slow left-arm orthodox | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Source: Cricinfo.com, 4 February 2006 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mohammad Asif Mujtaba (Urdu: آصف مجتبیٰ, born 4 November 1967 in Karachi, Sindh) is a former Pakistani cricketer who played in 25 Tests and 66 ODIs from 1986 to 1997. He is best known for hitting a Steve Waugh full toss on the last ball in an ODI at Hobart in 1992-93 for six, when Pakistan needed 7 runs to win, thereby tying the match. He also enjoys the remarkable batting average of 214.00 from his 6 ODIs against Australia. After retiring, Asif went to the US and began helping other children at cricket at the Dallas Youth Cricket League. He is currently in Plano, TEXAS
In Nov. 1986, Mujtaba was selected to make his Test debut against the mighty WI. With Saleem Malik injured, the selectors preferred Mujtaba, over more experienced Wasim Raja for the job. It was an unenviable job, as the WI pace battery was spearheaded by Malcolm Marshall, the fastest bowler at that time. Alongside him were Courtney Walsh and Tony Gray. Thus, the selectors showed great confidence by giving Mujtaba his debut. Unfortunately, young Mujtaba, barely 19, failed to justify the selectors confidence in him. His four innings in the series yielded a mere 32 runs, and after another failure against the English, a year later, he went into oblivion for five years.
A string of strong batting performances in the domestic arena meant that he was recalled for the England tour during the summer of 1992. Again, the selectors showed their faith in him by putting him in the important No 3. position. The move was only partly successful. His first test fifty, 59 at Lords, helped Pakistan win the match by 2 wickets. He followed this with 57 & 40 in a high scoring affair at Old-Trafford. Also, he is known for his double hat-trick against India.
In the Spring of 1993, he batted with great courage against the might of WI, scoring 59 at St. John, & 41 at Bridgetown. Later that year, in the series against the Zimbabwe, he scored 3 fifties, but his inability to convert fifties into hundreds, meant that he remained in the periphery of the team, not at the centre.
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