"I congratulate you on this occasion," former Pakistani batsman Zaheer Abbas said in a message to Inzamam on Wednesday.

"You are a world-class player and I pray you score a century in your 100th Test and help your team level the series."

Pakistan are currently trailing 1-0 following their 195-run defeat in the second Test at Calcutta last Sunday. The opening Test ended in a draw at Mohali.

India captain Sourav Ganguly said Inzamam's record in international cricket had proved he is a great batsman.

"Getting more than 10,000 runs in one-day cricket and over 7,000 in Tests proves he is a world-class batsman," Ganguly said.

Former batting great Javed Miandad holds Pakistan's record for making the most Test appearance with 124 matches, followed by Wasim Akram (104) and Saleem Malik (103).

The rival teams will line up before the start of the match on Thursday to shake hands with Inzamam and Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Shaharyar Khan will present him with a crystal trophy.

"Inzamam is a great player who has served the country to the best of his ability. We will honour him on completing 100 Tests," said Khan.

Pakistan's former skipper Imran Khan told Inzamam by telephone from Islamabad that he had always rated the current captain among the top three batsmen in the world.

"He (Imran) wished me best of luck on my 100th Test," Inzamam told AFP.

"Imran said 'you deserve this and I have always rated you as one of the top three batsmen in the world'. I was really touched."

Imran is credited with picking an unknown Inzamam for the 1992 World Cup in Australia.

Inzamam, then 22, justified the captain's faith and gained international fame after scoring a match-winning 60 off just 37 balls in his team's victory over New Zealand in the semi-final.

Inzamam, who has so far amassed 7,238 runs in 99 Tests with 20 centuries and 10,631 runs in 336 one-dayers with 10 hundreds, replaced Rashid Latif as Pakistan's captain in 2003.

Under Inzamam, Pakistan have won three Tests, lost five and drawn three.

Former team-mate Waqar Younis described Inzamam as a "great ambassador of the game".

"Inzamam has always been a great team-mate and a good friend. I wish him luck and hope he plays more Tests than anyone in Pakistan," said Waqar, who is here as a TV commentator.

Indian coach John Wright said Inzamam was always a big asset to the game.

"I have always enjoyed Inzamam's batting. He is a big asset to the game and his country," said Wright.

(Article: Copyright © 2005 AFP)