14th March 2010 - Mumbai: The Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai was host to one of the most entertaining and exhilarating innings played by one of the most explosive batsmen in international cricket - Yusuf Pathan. The tall Rajasthan Royals right hander smashed 100 off just 37 balls. His superlative effort consisted of a staggering eight sixes and nine cracking boundaries. What makes the effort even more special was that the Royals were three down for 40 with the asking rate nearing 13 runs per over. Yusuf displayed temperament and confidence that defied his age and experience to bring Royals agonisingly close to the mammoth target of 212.
Yusuf’s special innings was also the second fastest hundred in the history of the game and the fastest in the IPL.
| Player |
Balls |
Match |
Date |
| A Symonds |
34 |
Kent v Middlesex |
2004 |
| YK Pathan |
37 |
Jaipur v Mumbai |
2010 |
| LL Bosman |
41 |
Eagles v Lions |
2009/10 |
This is not the only feather in the cap for Yusuf; his recent form has been nothing short of extraordinary In February 2010, Yusuf single handedly won Duleep trophy for the West Zone when he scored a breath-taking double hundred chasing a world record target of 541. In the first innings of the same game Yusuf also slammed a quick-fire hundred. He followed up this effort with another astonishing century of 40-balls against Maharashtra in Vijay Hazare trophy. Yusuf continued his great form in the Deodhar trophy. Playing for West Zone, Yusuf blasted the North Zone bowlers scoring 80 runs off 39-balls. Earlier in the semi-finals he also hit a swashbuckling 59 off 24 balls. Even in the practice game before the IPL, Yusuf blasted 88 of just 29 deliveries. This kind of brutal assault with such alarming consistency is something that has really made Yusuf Pathan the hot favourite among cricket lovers. In Yusuf, India has a player, who can match and even exceed some of the biggest and cleanest hitters of the world.
Yusuf Pathan’s fabulous 2010:
| Format |
Played for |
Played against |
Runs |
Balls |
4s |
6s |
| First-class game |
West Zone |
South Zone |
108 |
76 |
12 |
5 |
| First-class game |
West Zone |
South Zone |
210 |
190 |
19 |
10 |
| List A |
Baroda |
Maharashtra |
108 |
42 |
8 |
10 |
| List A |
West Zone |
Central Zone |
59 |
24 |
4 |
6 |
| List A |
West Zone |
North Zone |
80 |
39 |
3 |
9 |
Yusuf’s brilliance has captured the imagination of some of the modern greats like Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne. Shane Warne, the skipper of RR, was quoted as saying “I've played cricket for 21 years and I have seen Sachin Tendulkar as the best batsman against whom I have played as he has murdered attacks and hit them all over the park. But today was the best innings I have ever seen”. Sachin Tendulkar, the skipper of Mumbai Indians, said “It was a special innings from him. Before he came in and played that knock, I thought we would win this match with ease, but that's the beauty of this great game. You can never take anything for granted. I knew Yusuf was in great form and if he connects the ball well, the target was achievable“. Comments like these coming from cricketing legends speak volumes of his potential and the belief and fear he gives his own and the opposition’s captain.
Amidst all this, everyone focuses little on other important aspect of his game his bowling and fielding. Pathan’s is a very promising off spinner and always does his job for his captain and in the field also he is very lively. To add to this Pathan is a complete team player when asked about his brilliant innings, Yusuf was his usual humble self and under-played his brilliant innings – ‘I made an error because of which we lost, else we would have won’. He always plays for team and puts the team ahead of himself and does everything that the team expects from him.
Now the next big question is what can we expect from Yusuf after this? If we go by his record then sky is the limit for this hard-hitting Royal.
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