Pakistan v West Indies, 1st Test, Lahore, 3rd day
Yousuf leads Pakistan dominance
November 13, 2006
West Indies 206 and 74 for 3 trail Pakistan 485 (Yousuf 192, Akmal 78, Malik 69, Hafeez 57) by 205 runs
Mohammad Yousuf's monumental 192 put Pakistan in a position of immense strength at the end of the third day of the Lahore Test. Yousuf's knock, coupled with half-centuries by Kamran Akmal and Shoaib Malik, powered Pakistan to 485 with first-innings lead of 279. They further strengthened that position by reducing West Indies to 74 for 3 in 17 overs.
Pakistan's innings had vital contributions from the middle and lower-order batsmen, but the effort that made the difference was Yousuf's. After Pakistan lost two early wickets in the morning - including Malik's for 69 - Yousuf found an ally in Akmal, and the pair completely shut West Indies out of the match with a 148-run stand for the seventh wicket.
Like on the second day, Yousuf was unhurried in his approach. He caressed drives through the off side, picked off singles and twos on the leg, and batted with a languid elegance. He struggled first up against an inspired - and desperately luckless - Corey Collymore, survived a sharp chance to second slip, but once Collymore finished his nine-over spell, the pressure eased up and Yousuf did pretty much what he liked.
He danced down the pitch and deposited Dave Mohammed over long-off for six; and when he wanted to show his touch and artistry, he waited on the back foot and, with his wrists, tapped it to the third-man boundary. A double-hundred was there for the taking when Chris Gayle deceived him with a magnificently flighted delivery that drew him forward and then left him stranded.
If Yousuf was the glue that held Pakistan together, then the feisty Akmal was the one who provided the impetus with his stroke-filled 78. When he came in to bat, West Indies had reduced Pakistan from 265 for 4 to 285 for 6. Akmal being the last of the competent batsmen, another wicket then could have put West Indies in a position to restrict the deficit.
However, as has happened so often in the match, the moment West Indies seemed to be fighting back, Pakistan shut them out again. Intent on putting the bowlers on the back foot, Akmal attacked from the outset, driving fluently through the off side, and cutting and pulling with aplomb when the bowlers pitched it short. Fidel Edwards, easily the most lacklustre of the three fast bowlers, was pulled twice for fours in his first over of the day, before being driven through and over the off side when he pitched it up. It finally required Gayle's part-time offspin to end the partnership, but there was still more resistance from Pakistan's last-wicket pair. Danish Kaneria, too, swatted a couple of boundaries en route to his second-highest score in Tests.
A deficit of 279 was a huge disadvantage to start with in the second innings and it got even worse when both Daren Ganga and Gayle fell in the five overs before tea. Imran Farhat, not one of Pakistan's best fielders, ended a dismal Test for Ganga with a moment of sheer inspiration, picking up the ball and throwing down the stumps from square leg, while Gayle succumbed to a superb delivery which seamed away.
Brian Lara began with two crisply struck fours off his first two balls, and with Ramnaresh Sarwan was putting the innings back on track when umpire Asoka de Silva, ruled Sarwan lbw when the ball was clearly going over the stumps.
Edwards, the nightwatchman hung on with Lara till the light deteriorated and forced the umpires to call off play about 15 minutes before the scheduled close. But with two more days to go, the relief for West Indies is surely only a temporary one.
S Rajesh is stats editor of Cricinfo
Cricinfo
Pakistan v West Indies, 1st Test, Lahore, 2nd day
Yousuf bemoans flat tracks
Osman Samiuddin in Lahore
It's okay when the touring side's lead fast bowler criticises the pitch for being too flat and offering no assistance. That is often the way, especially on the subcontinent (where Dennis Lillee was once disheartened enough to famously call Faisalabad a graveyard for fast bowlers). Increasingly it is also becoming the case around the world, where pitches are good if they produce runs and substandard if they don't.
But when the home side's leading batsman, fresh from his 20th century, sixth of the calendar year, and seventh in his last ten Tests, echoes that very sentiment, almost downplaying his effort, you start to wonder.
Before the start of this series, sceptics sensed that the Pakistani batsmen would score comfortably only because pitches would be as unlike the ones they faced in Mohali and Old Trafford this year and Perth two years ago, as is possible. Accordingly, having been humiliated for 89 in their last international outing, they moved serenely to 265 for 4 here, a position of considerable strength.
Mohammad Hafeez compiled a neat third fifty, a willing student performing quietly what is expected of him in a high-pressure role. His test, no one should kid themselves, will come on South African pitches. Shoaib Malik joined him, following up a Test century as opener last time with a fifty from number six. Soon, he may well become the only batsman to score a Test fifty from every position. Yousuf's hundred was blessed with fortune, but also with the usual beauty and new-found common sense he has combined so effectively this year.
But what can you really gauge from performances on this surface when even Yousuf criticises it for being too flat? "Yes it is flat but we've been playing cricket around the world on such pitches for the last 10-12 years. Even in South Africa, that 434 ODI match, there are pitches like this everywhere," he said later, as agitated as a mild nature allows him to be.
"I don't support this at all. Wickets should be tougher, there should be enough in them for everyone. Batsmen are too dominant. The ideal pitch should have bounce at least, like there is in Brisbane which is one the best pitches." Mohali, he argued, was different altogether. "No batsmen can play well on pitches with too much grass, like there was at Mohali. Even Jacques Kallis said he hadn't seen a pitch like that before."
But it hadn't played so flat yesterday, or this morning, when heavy clouds, moisture in the pitch and fine bowling combined to take 11 wickets. True, as the sun peeped out this afternoon, inertia crept into the surface but both Inzamam and Lara reckon it will deteriorate gradually. That suggests the surface may yet turn out to be a sporting one, thus casting a different light on Pakistan's efforts today.
Maybe there should just be relief that Pakistan applied themselves studiously enough, turning a slippery 140 for four into a sturdy advantage. They were up against committed bowling too as Yousuf pointed out, before adding, crucially, the proviso, "but on these pitches..." They are now in a position to win this Test. If surfaces are similar, you would back them to take the series as well.
But one good day doesn't erase memories of a few very bad ones in recent time. It doesn't answer the questions that have been asked of Pakistan's batting. And few will forget that a tour to South Africa beckons soon after, a destination like Australia, where their batting has rarely looked safe let alone thrived. Relief, but tinged with some caution.
Osman Samiuddin is Pakistan editor of Cricinfo
Cricinfo
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