Former India all-rounder Syed Abid Ali, who represented the country in 29 Tests and 5 ODIs, passed away on Wednesday. He was 83.
Born in Hyderabad, Ali made his India debut in December 1967 in Adelaide, where he returned career-best figures of 6/55 in the first innings with his medium pace bowling. On the same tour, he scored 78 and 81 in Sydney. His career in whites went on till 1974, when he finished with 47 wickets and 1018 runs to his name.
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In a rare and remarkable feat, Abid Ali opened both the batting and bowling for India in seven Tests — twice in New Zealand (1968), three times at home against the same opposition (1969), and twice more in the West Indies (1971).
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Mourning his loss, batting maestro Sunil Gavaskar said, “Very sad news, he was a lion-hearted cricketer who did anything the team needed. Despite being an all-rounder who batted in the middle order, he opened the batting when needed. Took some incredible catches in the leg side cordon, adding an even sharper edge to our wonderful spin quartet.”
“As a new ball bowler, he has the unique record of getting a wicket with the first ball of a Test match twice if memory serves me right. He loved the tip and run and when promoted up the order in my debut Test match, this tactic resulted in some overthrows which reduced the pressure considerably. He was a thorough gentleman with impeccable manners who spoke professorially. Heartfelt condolences to his family,” he added.
He played only five ODIs, but three of those came in the first-ever men’s ODI World Cup. In his last 50-over appearance, he scored a 98-ball 70 against New Zealand. Abid had a first-class tally of 397 wickets as well as 8732 in 212 games with a career-best score of 173 not out.
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