Anwar is Pakistan’s only left-handed batter to compile more than 10,000 runs in international cricket. He was regarded as one of the best One Day International (ODI) openers back in the day, but he was far more than just that.
Before Sachin Tendulkar happened, Saeed Anwar was the actual ODI trailblazer.
The southpaw scored his first 1,000 runs as an ODI opener at a then whopping strike rate of 85.03. A strike rate of that kind was quite unthinkable back in 1993.
The next best openers, with 1,000 or more ODI runs, at that position were Kris Srikkanth (71.74), Brian Lara (71.57) and Navjot Singh Sidhu (68.94).
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Anwar made his ODI debut in January 1989, the same year when Sachin Tendulkar first emerged on the international scene. For the most part of the next decade, he would go on to dominate the Indian legend in limited-overs cricket.
Anwar wasn’t asked to open the batting for Pakistan until the Benson & Hedges tri-series in 1990, where he was promoted to number three in the batting order as well. His first innings as an opener, albeit briefly, gave a fair indication of what was expected from him going forward.
He notched up 27 runs in 30 deliveries and ended the series with more boundaries than anyone else. His strike rate in the tournament was 105.39. By then Pakistan knew they had found a new ODI opener.
Saeed Anwar ended the 1990s decade as the highest run-scoring opener. He amassed 6,427 runs in 166 innings, Sachin Tendulkar was behind him with 6,270 runs in 139 innings. The southpaw had 31 fifties and 17 hundred to his name, his tally of 48 fifty-plus scores was only bettered by Tendulkar’s tally of 50, which included 27 fifties and 23 centuries.
He had also scored the highest individual score in ODI cricket in that decade — 194 against India at Chennai in 1997. In 1999, Saeed Anwar also became the third Pakistan player and the 13th overall to score 6,000 runs in ODI cricket. He achieved the milestone against hosts India during the Pepsi Cup. He took 162 innings to get there — the then third-fastest in terms of innings played.
He got there in a quicker time as compared to Tendulkar, who took 170 innings himself.
In the 1990s, between Saeed Anwar and Sachin Tendulkar, there used to be a persistent battle for scoring the most number of ODI hundreds.
West Indies’ Desmond Haynes had retired by March 1994, with 17 ODI tons — the most by anyone in the format at that time. Gordon Greenidge and Viv Richards, both from West Indies, were joint-second in the list with 11 centuries each.
But Anwar’s career was dented by injuries, but he still smashed six hundreds in only 45 innings. On the other hand, Sachin Tendulkar was still six months away from scoring his maiden century. He then went on to score three in as many months to cap off a fine year.
