The silent giant retires

It is going to be that last slow walk back to the pavillion for Inzamam-ul-haq and I don't think it is going to be any slower than usual (his usual is turtle speed). But as the burly man from Multan bids farewell to the game in a few hours from now, my only wish remains that he walks back having scored the winning runs for Pakistan. They are 210/2 and need another 250 at 5 runs per over as I write this. If it happens, I am sure few careers would match that sort of an end.

Whatever happens today, there's no denying the fact that we would miss a talented batsman and a great servant for the game. We all know about the Tendulkar's and Lara's but this man deserves a mention in the same breath purely from the talent perspective. The one innings that is etched in my memory is when along with Mohd. Yousuf took Pakistan from nowhere to the brink of victory against India in Karachi to lose only by six runs. From the world cup 1992 semifinal to this moment, Inzi's career has really come the full circle.