Cricketer Younis Khan: the Pakistan Captain

One of topmost scorers of the world today, Younus Khan became only the third Pakistan batsman to score a triple hundred on the fourth day of the first Test against Sri Lanka in Karachi. Pakistan finished the day on 574-5 with the captain unbeaten on 306. And with the match destined for a draw, the specialists say Younus is certain to start day five with Brian Lara's Test record score of 400 in sight on a flat wicket. He received fine support from Misbah-ul-Haq (52) and Faisal Iqbal (57) as Sri Lanka toiled on a flat pitch.

Pakistan played its new cricket with less experienced players under Younis. Younis' innings said a lot about his character and batsmanship. You could describe it as 'typical' but that would be too flippant. His captaincy had been castigated for his first-day field settings, which allowed Sri Lanka to run away to a mammoth total. Younis replied with his bat. He defended a lot but didn't poke around. He slog-swept and reverse-swept but never looked desperate or too cheeky, as he often does in one-day cricket. He had occasional problems with Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis but didn't get bogged down. The loose balls were punished and Younis created run-scoring opportunities regularly with planned, calculated shots.

Turning point took place with the Captain's century. That great inning played by Md. Younis. Keep it up now you played only for record till tomorrow evening.   Younus Khan hit his 16th Test century as Pakistan finished day three of the first Test against Sri Lanka on 296-3. The 31-year-old soon brought up his hundred off Dilhara Fernando batting alongside Shoaib, who in turn scored his seventh Test half-century.  (188.6 Muralitharan to Younis Khan, 3 runs, full toss on the off, Younis Khan reverse sweeps it down to third man, what a way to get to the MAIDEN TRIPLE CENTURY!! As adventurous as it can get!)

Pakistan new captain Younis Khan brought up his tripple century after lunch on the fourth day of the first Test against Sri Lanka in Karachi. At 313 Younis was in form and led his team from the front to a grand 765 runs total declared, an achievement considered by all sports commentators impossible and , hence, now they rake up the "flat pitch" when Pakistan has over powered Sri Lankans convincingly. Interestingly, when Sri Lankans were scoring 200 plus these "sport specialists" were in administration of Sri Lanka, mocking Pakistan. The match made a shrift in favor of the hosts, when Pakistan's new captain Younis Khan hit a fine century and combined well with his predecessor Shoaib Malik to thwart a stiff challenge from the Sri Lankan spinners. On a pitch that got increasingly slower, Sri Lanka fought hard but Younis stood firm to lead Pakistan some way towards avoiding the follow-on.  

Those who sought the defeat of Pakistan when they were bating felt zero excitement barring the moment which saw Younis Khan kissing the ground when he became the third Pakistani to score a triple ton. Other than that, wickets being as rare as Halley's comet. End of a long, grinding day but an excellent one for Pakistan. They have all but saved this Test, and the fifth day appears a mere formality now. Younis Khan was their star, scoring his country's third triple century and he stood a chance of overhauling Brian Lara's record of 400. He was supported well by Misbah and Faisal Iqbal who were both involved in century-partnerships with him, and ensured they not only avoided the follow on but got Pakistan within reach of a mammoth Sri Lankan first innings score.

Younis' effort came after Sri Lanka had tightened the noose in the first session with some disciplined and crafty bowling. Muralitharan twirled his offbreaks and doosras at different speeds, creating angles by going around the stumps and suffocating the batsmen. Mendis cut it both ways and slipped in quite a few off-breaks and googlies and nearly accounted for Younis with a close lbw shout. He also should have got Malik on 15 but Prasanna Jayawardene, who was otherwise really good, could not hold on to a tough chance behind the stumps. Younis, however, looked quite confident even in the morning. There were three elegant cover-drives off Vaas but the shot of the morning was a whiplash square-drive against Fernando.

With his team solidly supporting the captain, Younis had started the attack after lunch with a slog-sweep and a deft flick against Muralitharan. The bowler immediately brought in a backward short leg and Younis went for a reverse-sweep and edged it down leg. Mendis too upped his game, blending his carrom balls skillfully with his off-breaks. The runs came in a trickle, but Younis once again broke free with a pull off a long hop from Mendis. Meanwhile, Malik was growing in confidence. He stuck to the back foot initially, using the slow track and taking care not to press his front foot across to play the spinners. He crossed 25 with a lovely inside-out cover-drive off the front foot against a doosra. The very next ball he charged Muralitharan and belted it over the bowler's head. Next ball, Younis swung an offbreak from Mendis over midwicket. Malik was run out, unable to beat the direct hit from Muralitharan, and Sri Lanka tried to close in. But Misbah-ul-Haq dropped anchor, allowing Younis to go along in his merry way. Another day like this for Pakistan and they'll be able to save the game.

As ever, Younus was ready for a challenge. When Muttiah Muralitharan plugged the backward short-leg region to prevent him from flicking, Younis unfurled the reverse-sweep. When Ajantha Mendis flummoxed him at times with his variations, Youni never let the bowler gain the ascendancy. In fact, it was against Mendis that he produced the shot of his stay - clearing his front leg, Younis allowed himself a free swing of the bat and the ball rocketed past the surprised bowler. When Dilhara Fernando pinned him with reverse swing when he was in the nineties, Younis remained patient in getting to the landmark. Both the batsmen and bowlers looked excited all the time, countering the high-quality and imaginative bowling really well. There was but one moment of concern for Younis, when he was on 92. He swung a delivery from Mendis in the air but despite an acrobatic effort at midwicket, Tillakaratne Dilshan couldn't hold on.

Younis Khan has called for more lively and sporting pitches in Pakistan to encourage fans to go to Test matches knowing they will competitive. "We need to have Test pitches which support good and lively cricket and which produce results, wickets on which batsmen need to work hard to score runs. We need to recreate the charm of Test cricket," the Pakistan captain said.

Younis was 31 runs short of Hanif Mohammad's 337 records, the highest individual score by a Pakistan batsman, started slowly but was surprised by the movement from Fernando. The ball landed short of a length outside off stump. A day that began with all attention centered on whether Younis Khan would break Brian Lara's record score of 400 not out briefly sprang to life before tea when Sri Lanka lost three early wickets in their second innings after Pakistan declared 121 runs ahead. As Younis walked back, he was congratulated by most of the Sri Lankan fielders. Pakistan sighed in disappointment but Brian Lara's fans in the Caribbean would have been relieved. Younis batted for 836 minutes, the third longest Test innings in terms of minutes behind Hanif (970) and Gary Kirsten (878). But Kamran Akmal continued Pakistan's strong reply on the flattest of pitches, scoring an unbeaten 158. Sri Lanka relaxed after Younis left and bowled an assortment of irregular bowlers like Kumar Sangakkara, Tillakaratane Dilshan and Malinda Warnapura. Poor Prasanna Jayawardene must have felt left out. Akmal picked off 98 runs from the irregular bowlers and reached 158 off only 184 balls before Younis finally declared on 765 for six.

An Observation

One of most outstanding features of Pakistan's bating in the Pak-SL series in Karachi is that Pakistan batsmen proved, rather convincingly, that with lesser run rate (2.87 runs per over) it could surpass the mammoth totals set by opponents SL (644) with higher ratings (4.14 runs per over). What is m ore impressive is the fact that with very little international exposure almost for the past two years, Pakistan team, newly constituted with Younus Khan as its captain, has done its job quite remarkably.

Left to the field, when SL chose to bat first, Younus Khan's teams struggled to bowl out the batsmen and as the newly appointed captain Younus perhaps felt nervous too, but as he took the bat to perform, he showcased the Pakistani prowess in superb action. The SL bowlers had a tough time even while almost every one bowled to outseat him. Finally, he fell. action. Younus inspired the competitive bowling masters from SL with his firm bating spree crossing centuries.

The series have some noteworthy features. This is the first time when both captains have scored a double century in the same test match.  Indian media which were all in full praise for SL double centurions, did not talk about the pitch at all, but when Pakistan also played equally well, even better with skipper doing well, they began talking about pitches, etc. What does a batsman do when he is presented with a dead pitch? Younis Khan treated himself to a maiden triple ton to push Pakistan to safety and the Test match towards a draw. By remaining unbeaten, he has left the final day with a bit of historical interest. One hopes Pakistani captain would outstretch Lara in runs by crossing 400 plus. If he will keep performing like this all the time and we know that he is not so consistent and he can outstep Lara too.

Younis Khan is one of the toughest players on world of cricket today, not technically so correct but a fighter. In the presence of stylish batsman like Inzamam and Yousuf, he was not noticeable, but now he took the responsibility and delivered straight away.

Pakistan is still going on. However, not the best of beginnings to the day as Younis missed out on a much anticipated record. . Since his captain's departure, then, it's been Akmal show who has batted with a lot of confidence and scored freely. "Nothing much left in the game, looks like a mere formality." An Indian commented in despairs. Kevin Johnson: "We Aussies love Khan. He played for our state SA and scored a century. Our club in Adeliade shows his videos as his style is perfect and we are so happy that he made captain. Our best wishes are with him and his team."

Younis Khan is a role model for the budding cricketers and aspiring captains. Indeed, unforgettable innings by Pakistan Captain Really the cricket world would have given him standing salute. He played for 3 days. What a courageous man he is. The future focus will be on Younis and he has heavy leadership responsibilities too. Perhaps, future of records, too, belongs to him. All the Best, Younis Khan!

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Yours Sincerely,

DR. ABDUL RUFF Colachal

Columnist & Independent Researcher in World Affairs, The only Indian to have gone through entire India

South Asia.