Ton up Yousuf leads Pakistan’s runs feast

LAHORE—Pakistan’s batsmen built on the good work done by the bowlers on the first day as they took charge of the first Test at Lahore. Mohammad Yousuf continued his outstanding form this year with an unbeaten 107 - his 20th Test century, and his sixth hundred in 2006 - while Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik chipped in with crucial half-centuries as Pakistan moved on to 265 for 4 - a lead of 59 - before bad light brought an early halt to proceedings.
For West Indies it was a day of hard toil. They shared the honours in the opening session with three wickets, but were then thoroughly outplayed in the last two, as Yousuf and Shoaib ground out a 125-run stand for the fifth wicket, Pakistan’s highest for that wicket against West Indies.
The second new ball, which was taken as soon as it was available right after tea, only helped Pakistan accelerate after a fairly quiet afternoon session. The West Indians didn’t help their cause in the field either - Yousuf was let off twice, by Daren Ganga at gully when on 43, and a caught-and-bowled chance by Jerome Taylor immediately after the century while umpire Asoka de Silva might have given Yousuf a reprieve as well when he chose not to refer an appeal for stumping to the third umpire.
Pakistan’s batsmen were also helped by the pitch, which eased up considerably and offered much lesser assistance to the bowlers. The lack of pace on the track made run-scoring difficult, but there were also far fewer wicket-taking deliveries, which meant ample rewards for batsmen who were prepared to spend long periods at the crease.
The one who stayed out in the middle the longest was Yousuf. He came in to bat after Younis Khan fell a victim to the pull shot early in the day, and played what was easily the most fluent knock of the match. On a pitch where most of the batsmen struggled, Yousuf eased into his drives through point and cover with typical languid grace - his second scoring stroke was a pleasing square-drive off a wide swinging delivery from Fidel Edwards, and from there he continued to bat quite effortlessly, never hurried by anything the West Indian fast bowlers hurled at him. Even when the feet weren’t quite in place, his hand-eye coordination allowed him to caress the drives.
The pace of scoring slowed after lunch - his first 50 runs came off just 67 balls but he was rarely troubled even when the runs weren’t coming.
Hafeez and Malik played crucial roles too: Hafeez helped Yousuf put together a crucial 88 when West Indies might have fancied more wickets in the first hour. Having tided through a difficult period on the first day, Hafeez was more assured this morning: the left foot reached out more decisively in defence, and when the bowlers erred in length, he drove down the ground crisply or pulled with a flourish. Until he was finally deceived by a full-length inswinger by Taylor, it seemed Hafeez might go on to convert his third Test half-century into something far more substantial. Malik, shunted down to No.7 with Hafeez taking over the opener’s spot, showed just how invaluable an asset he is anywhere in the batting order. He walked in when Inzamam-ul-Haq had fallen for a duck in his first international innings since the Oval fiasco, and immediately got down to a typically unruffled knock. He occasionally displayed some aggressive intent, carving Dave Mohammed over long-on for six and clipping Edwards for consecutive fours off the first two deliveries with the second new ball, but those were exceptions to what an innings steeped in defence and concentration.
The lack of pace on the pitch meant he was rarely worried by the fast bowlers, and with the pitch still looking an excellent one for batting, Pakistan with Abdul Razzaq and Kamran Akmal still to follow are well on course to stretch this lead into a potentially matchwinning one.
Mohammad Yousuf has surprisingly called for Test cricket to be played on pitches which offer more help to bowlers.
Yousuf made an unbeaten 107 against the West Indies in Lahore on day two of the first Test, and said the battle between ball and bat was becoming unequal. “The pitch is flat - there’s nothing in it for the bowlers,” said Yousuf. “Unfortunately cricket the world over is dominated by batsmen because of these pitches. I don’t support that.” The 32-year-old’s century at the Gaddafi Stadium was his sixth Test ton of the year.
“I would like to see more lively and bouncy tracks all over the world which support batsmen and bowlers,” he added. The stadium saw six hundreds in January when Pakistan played India, with Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid putting on an opening stand of 411 runs.
Yousuf’s view was echoed by West Indies fast bowler Jerome Taylor. “The pitch had absolutely nothing in it for the fast bowlers once the new ball spells were over,” said Taylor. “You can just try and bowl straight on it.”—Agencies