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I’m hoping for a Younis Khan epic

Younis Khan was on fire for Pakistan against England. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
Roar Guru
4th January, 2017
0

Younis Khan doesn’t use nightwatchmen as habitually as other batsmen. There’s no such thing as a teawatchman, but if there were, Younis probably wouldn’t use one. But it was a no-win situation for Pakistan.

Pakistan were 2/6, trailing by 532, and Josh Hazlewood had taken those two wickets in this excellent over, the fourth of the innings, and there was still one ball of it left.

Younis defended the last ball to point. It was the only ball he had to face until tea.

I hate nightwatchmen. Younis has provided at least one excellent example of why the batting order should not be changed simply because of the time of the day. His highest score of 313 started on the night of Day 2 against Sri Lanka at National Stadium in Karachi in February 2009, after the tourists had amassed 7/644 declared.

Younis was captain. It was his call. There was only an over and a half left in the day, with three balls left from Muttiah Muralitharan. But Younis saw out the day.

The time of day didn’t matter to Younis; he was the man for the job.

That innings was also something much sadder: Younis Khan’s farewell to Pakistan with the bat. The next Test was at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, where Sri Lanka made another 600-plus total. Salman Butt was again dismissed late in the day, but this time stumps were called. Younis was to face the first ball the next morning, but the Sri Lankan team bus never made it that far.

Pakistan has been waiting for Younis Khan to walk out to the middle ever since.

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Most cricketers come into Lord’s through the gates. If his batting was any guide, Younis Khan jumped over them in 2016. It was a technique that could never produce a Younis Khan epic, and it was amazing that he even ground out 33 and 25. After losing at Old Trafford and Edgbaston, Pakistan were 2-1 down in the series. Younis was 3-0 down, even though his technique was gradually getting back to something more recognisable. He and Pakistan needed a 2-2 result.

At the Oval, Younis delivered 218. To describe it merely as batting feels like an understatement. For those who didn’t experience it live, the closest I can compare it to in terms of cricket emotions is Brian Lara’s farewell 226 to Australia at Adelaide in 2005.

What happened in both matches show that Lara had the added hindrance of being in a much weaker team against far stronger opposition; Pakistan went on to win by ten wickets without Younis having to pick up a bat again, while Australia went on to win by seven wickets, as the West Indies collapsed in the second innings minus another Lara epic.

That knock did take Lara past Allan Border’s record of most Test runs. Younis has his own individual record he wants to achieve: to be the first Pakistan batsman to 10,000 Test runs. We know, because he wrote and made that goal his pinned tweet on Twitter.

When I was writing this article, there was a retweet from a Pakistan fan who noted that if Younis Khan scores a century at the SCG, he would become the first player to score a century in 11 countries. Even after all these years, Younis Khan is hungry for runs. Unless he is planning to play until he’s 45, he will never receive another opportunity to score a century in Australia.

Younis often seems like a batting mentalist, particularly in the UAE. He pulled out of the fifth ball of the 29th over from Mitchell Starc. When it was finally bowled, it was a beauty, but it felt like Younis had known it was going to be a beauty, and he was trying to delay Starc until the ball had turned sour.

Overall, it wasn’t the innings of a batting mentalist on Day 2. Younis nearly ran out Azhar Ali, and Azhar nearly ran out Younis. David Warner couldn’t hit on either occasion. Nathan Lyon gave away four overthrows to Younis when his errant throw for a run out that was never on beat both Matthew Wade and Steve Smith. Australia didn’t appeal for a possible faint edge from Younis off Starc. When he was on 48, a short ball from Starc seemed determined to smear Vicks VapoRub to treat a non-existent cold instead of rising over his shoulders like it should have.

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At his best, Saeed Ajmal believed batsman were afraid to look him in the eye. Younis wouldn’t have been afraid. He’s looked the best spinners in the eye. No offence to Nathan Lyon and Steve O’Keefe, but people don’t ask whether batsmen of Younis Khan’s quality are afraid to look them in the eye. But while they didn’t really create any chances from Younis, Younis couldn’t take liberties against them.

I want Younis to win on Day 3 – he’s won a day in every other country. I don’t know if I just watched the first part of an epic, but I’m worried that 211 might be enough to convince him that it is a good time to retire. I want him to show that Australian epic he is capable of, and not just because I’ve bet a friend that he will score a hundred in this series.

I want him to win because no one can do Younis Khan like Younis Khan. With most of the attention reasonably being on the other elder of the Pakistan team, we can’t afford to miss this chance to see him, just as he can’t afford to squander this chance.

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