Mohammad Yousuf’s knock may have lacked the thrills and frills, but his retro one-day classic allowed Shoaib Malik to bat freely and scythe India
Osman Samiuddin in Centurion27-Sep-2009Oftentimes, there is nothing like an old head. The call for youth is alwaysinsistent in sport and it is in the end their gig. But sometimessituations are such that you need someone who has been there, done thatand got the beard to show for it.Shoaib Malik was the man who thrust Pakistan to their win tonight and adeserved the Man of the Match. But ushering him along for much of it, in fact,the man who dragged him out of the timidity that held him for so long andmade his innings possible was Mohammad Yousuf; the man, so to speak,behind the successful man.The last few years have not been for Yousuf what they should’ve been afterthe miracle year of 2006. The rise of Twenty20 has shaken his core. TheICL dalliance was ill-advised and though he returned to the Test side thisyear, his place in the ODI side was slipping. He was dropped from the ODIsin Sri Lanka and many were those who thought he shouldn’t be coming toSouth Africa.Even after he got here, he scratched around against West Indies andcalls for his head began in Pakistan. And you could see why, for he hasbeen out of it in pyjamas. His fielding is poor and all types of pumped,young power hitters have taken over cricket. But who in Pakistan could’veplayed the innings that Yousuf played tonight, the very innings thatPakistan needed?Trouble was coming at him from everywhere. Wickets had gone down, therun-rate was plummeting and his partner was comatose; incidentally hispartner was also the man he blamed for his ouster from the side and moveto the ICL. This was against India, in a Champions Trophy. And all he did was keephis head, his old head, and play as he does and as he always has.The singles came first because just before his arrival, Pakistan had madeonly five runs in five overs and all but squandered an unusually hecticstart. They were never to stop; 51 in all, many to his favourite areas inthird man, square leg and deep point. He is one of the few batsmen in theside adept at doing so and as soon as he got in, he got a groove going,giving the innings some rhythm.He was barely noticeable mostly, occasionally reminding everyone of hispresence with a boundary such as a lift over midwicket off Virat Kohlibefore going diligently back to the singles. The next came much later, adink just past the wicketkeeper and it was only after the 30th over thathe decided the pace could be upped.
Youth will have its day, it always does. But the day once belonged to those now old and sometimes, often when it is most needed, they will own it, just to show us that they still can
Malik by then was also opening up. At one stage he was 36 off 72 balls,not finding gaps or the middle of his bat or runs, and had he gotten outthen, it would’ve been a monumental waste. But as Yousuf pushed on, hetook Malik along and they went side-by-side, matching each other run forrun through their 20s, 30s, 40s right till their 50s, achieved within anover of each other. Having taken him along this far, having wound him up,Yousuf simply let Malik go, to bludgeon and scythe India.Yousuf ensured his pace never relented, ticking along, occasionallyremembering to check in with a boundary. Seven came in all, beautiful oneseach: he lofted RP Singh over extra cover, then square drove him, beforelifting Harbhajan Singh over cover. But his real currency wasstrike-rotation and he ran singles quicker than he has done for some time.Andrew Strauss, who has had to deal with poor running in his side inrecent weeks, says batsmen run better and with more confidence once theyare set, even those who are poor runners. Yousuf will agree, whose highnumber of run-outs hide the fact that he is an astute judge of a run oncehe has settled at the crease.Ninety-one runs came between overs 31 and 41 in this manner, a Twenty20rate an in old-fashioned way, and it was the winning of the game. When hefinally went, slogging, he left behind a retro one-day classic, with nopower mis-hits, no cheeky scoops or switch hits or convoluted paddles. Therewere no sixes, yet he went at a run-a-ball.Youth will have its day, it always does. But the day once belonged tothose now old and sometimes, often when it is most needed, they will ownit, just to show us that they still can.
