February 1, 1985. Green Park, Kanpur.

Mohammed Azharuddin had retired for the night unbeaten on 98. Two more runs required for the unprecedented feat of starting a Test career with three hundreds on the trot. In the course of a month his ingenious wristy strokeplay had captured the imagination of the country.

Later Azhar claimed that he had slept that night 'aaram se' (without a care).

On this morning, the lanky Hyderabadi youngster turned Neil Foster off his hips to square leg for a brace to reach his landmark. Off came the helmet, the bat was raised and the eyes looked heavenwards — gestures to be repeated on many more glorious moments in the career of this gifted batsman.

After the feat, a newspaper publication pledged to supply the young master with a daily paper for life.

Text: Arunabha Segupta

Illustration: Maha