Another such against-the-odds knock was his classy 182 against Graham Gooch`s visiting England team at Eden Gardens in 1992-93 when he was on the verge of losing the captaincy, and quite possibly his place in the side, after disastrous tours to Australia and South Africa saw him start his captaincy with one win and seven losses. He ended up winning the match and India then whitewashed England 3-0 in the most comprehensive defeat inflicted on an English team in India.
Such bravura performances were repeated time and again, including another excellent effort at Newlands in Capetown, where in the company of Sachin Tendulkar, he launched a ferocious counter attack against Donald, Pollock and Klusener, scoring a 96-ball century, although India again eventually lost the match.
But Azhar did not always play the role of the boy on the burning bridge. He could also press home the advantage when required. In fact, among his better knocks was a massive 163 not out against Australia again at his favorite Eden Gardens in 1997-98, where he savaged Shane Warne and company along with all the other Indian batsmen. All batsmen from 1 through 6, including Azhar, scored at least a fifty, and the openers missed their hundreds by just a few runs. This innings allowed India to record its biggest ever innings defeat over Australia.
One of the lesser known facts about the Azhar captaincy is his Indian record for the maximum number of innings defeats on opponents, including two sets of three innings defeats in a row, inflicted on Sri Lanka and then on England, twice, followed by Zimbabwe. Azhar ended up with a record 14 wins as Indian Captain -- more than half of them via an innings defeat.
Thus Azhar eventually repaid the faith reposed in him by the then BCCI President, Raj Singh Dungarpur, who offered him the captaincy in truly dramatic Hindi movie style. Following the 1989 tour of Pakistan, where Krish Srikkanth led India to a 0-0 draw in four matches, Raj Singh offered Azhar the captaincy with his famous question, "Miya, Kaptaan Banoge?" This was done in hush-hush, conspiratorial fashion with the background of a near revolt by the players against the BCCI over the issue of the money they were to be paid. There were clearly other stronger candidates for the captaincy, including Ravi Shastri whom Gavaskar had been grooming for the post, as well as Kapil Dev himself. However in the young Azhar, Raj Singh found a man who was too gentlemanly to openly fight the Board on the payment issue, and who because of his relative inexperience could be manipulated by the Board. That Azhar was able to slowly establish his authority and compile a superb home record as captain, along with coach Ajit Wadekar with whom he shared an excellent rapport, was quite an achievement.
It was also ironic that Azhar, a man who was chosen by the BCCI president as the least likely to fight the Board for increased player compensation, should only a few short years later be implicated in match-fixing for purely monetary gain. The details of this entire episode remain murky. This much is clear: Azhar was not the only one accused. Many others were also implicated, and if Azhar was guilty he was only one of many others, including players from India and overseas who were similarly involved. Significantly, the CBI had also charged the BCCI with malfeasance and foreknowledge of match-fixing.
Surprisingly only Azhar, and to a certain extent Ajay Jadeja, of the international stars implicated in the report by the CBI -- India`s premiere crime investigation agency -- were punished beyond a mild slap on the wrists by their respective Boards. The BCCI, whose officials were also targeted by the CBI, banned Azhar for life and Jadeja for five years. This was as blatant a case of the fox policing the hen house as there can be. Azhar now awaits his day in court, but at the glacial pace at which the wheels of justice operate in India he will likely be an old man before the whole truth emerges. In the meantime, he must live with the stain of dishonor and persevere as he endures yet another Test of his faith.
Thus did a glittering career grind to a sudden, dramatic and sad halt. Azhar remained stranded on a career total of 99 test matches. This striking figure of just one match away from the coveted 100 Test caps is what his taqdeer had in store for him, and is a fitting epitaph to a career that promised much, delivered a lot, and yet did not quite end as it should have. In a way, Azhar provided a premonition of what was to come to Harsha Bhogle who noted in his 1994 biography of Azhar that amidst the Reebok shoes, Armani shades, Polo shirts and fancy watches, Azhar always carried his prayer mat, skull cap and lungi, and prayed five times a day. When questioned by Bhogle, Azhar confided that in the beginning he had very little and now had much, but if ever the time came that he had to go back to having very little, he would be every bit as happy and satisfied.
Azhar, despite the humiliation of going from "Mr. India" as the media labelled him to "persona non grata", has never been bitter. Though far from poverty, Azhar has in some ways come full circle. In fact, in a recent interview Azhar who now owns and runs a couple of gyms (befitting a fitness fanatic) remains remarkably positive. He still maintains that he has been very fortunate in life and cricket was the best thing ever to have happened to him. The acceptance of what taqdeer has handed out, without bitterness, indicates a man whose faith runs deep. That, in final analysis, is what Mohammad Azharrudin should be remembered for.