da aposte e ganhe： A year that has already been a spectacular one for Mohammad Yousuf goteven better as he stroked his way to yet another classy hundred
The Bulletin by S Rajesh27-Nov-2006Pakistan 257 for 7 (Yousuf 102) v West Indies
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Pakistan how they were out
Mohammad Yousuf became only the third batsman to run up a streak of five hundreds insuccessive Tests.© AFP
A year that has already been a spectacular one for Mohammad Yousuf goteven better as he stroked his way to yet another classy hundred – a recordeighth in 2006, and his fifth in successive matches – on the opening dayat Karachi. Requiring 148 at the start of the day to equal Viv Richards’srecord of most runs in a calendar year, Yousuf reduced the deficit to just46, but his dismissal for 102 gave West Indies the edge, as they foughtspiritedly in the field to restrict Pakistan to 257 for 7.Imran Farhat contributed a useful 47, while most of the others got starts,but as has been the norm this year, Yousuf was the only batsman who kickedon. On a dry pitch lacking in pace and bounce – hardly anything rose aboveknee length, while Denesh Ramdin regularly collected deliveries around hisankles – Yousuf found his rhythm and timing with amazing ease, driving onthe up with the languid grace that has been such an attractive feature ofhis batting. While others struggled to get the ball off the square, Yousufcreamed boundaries almost at will before missing a pull shot off CoreyCollymore late in the day.But for Yousuf’s effort, West Indies would have been in complete commandof the match. Despite losing the toss and having to bowl on a completelygrassless surface, the bowlers kept their spirits up quite superblythroughout the day. They went in a bowler short – Dave Mohammed wasdropped for Ramnaresh Sarwan – but the lack of bowling resource didn’taffect them, as the fast bowlers all toiled hard. Collymore bowled withoutstanding control all day, Jerome Taylor managed pace and some swing,while Daren Powell, even though he finished wicketless, bowled awhole-hearted spell late in the day, getting appreciable reverse-swing.Dwayne Bravo chipped in with two crucial wickets, and the fielding wassharp, with several direct hits – the only blemish was Denesh Ramdin’sreprieve of Yousuf, when he was on 63.Apart from that one lapse, though, it was a near-flawless knock fromYousuf, who became only the third batsman to run up a streak of five hundreds insuccessive Tests. (Don Bradman, with six, and Jacques Kallis are theother two.) Right from the outset Yousuf timed the ball crisply – a clearindication of the dream form he is in – even as the rest battled toovercome the lack of pace in the track. He leant into his drives andpeppered the cover and extra-cover boundaries whenever the bowlers pitchedit up outside off, and picked off anything on his legs with immaculateclips off the legs. A gloriously executed back-foot punch through covertook him past the 500-run mark for the series, as West Indies struggled tokeep him in check.The rest of the batting, though, remained a disappointment. MohammadHafeez was comprehensively beaten by a superb indipper from Collymore,Farhat promised a lot but fell to yet another poor stroke, Younis Khan wasa victim of atrocious running between the wickets, while Inzamam-ul-Haq’sbattle for survival was a telling commentary of how ephemeral form can be.Widely recognised – till recently at least – as the best batsman in theside, Inzamam’s struggles were in stark contrast to Yousuf’s fluidelegance. The pair put together 66, of which Inzamam contributed alaboured 18 off 64.Finding the lack of pace a huge hindrance, Inzamam pottered around, unableto time his drives or place the ball in the gaps. That he finally fell tothe innocuous offspin of Daren Ganga, driving straight to mid-off, tellsjust how badly out of touch he was.The West Indians, for their part, did most of the things right in thefield. In a match they must win to level the series, it would have been easy tolose heart after seeing the way the ball behaved in the first couple ofovers – there was no swing on offer, and very little bounce – but theyfought on. Brian Lara often employed unorthodox fields: recognizing thefact that the edges to the slips might not carry, he reduced the slipcordon early on, instead using the short midwicket and short cover to tryand snaffle the miscues. They were especially dominant in the lastsession, taking four wickets for only 73, and despite Yousuf’s century,Lara would be happy with their day’s work.