The Pathan Bomb Strikes Again

[Roshanrocks]

@Morris

[Roshanrocks]

You have got to fear Yusuf Pathan You have got to fear a man who knows he can hit anything in his arc for a six. You have got to fear a man who can keep getting hit in the shoulder off the bouncers, and still keeps coming back to smack the fuller deliveries into the crowd. You have got to fear a man who asks for a Powerplay, and still keeps clearing the three men on the boundary. You have got to fear Yusuf Pathan in his current form. Yusuf has turned three of the last four games he has batted in on their head with some of the cleanest, sustained hitting you'll see. In those three innings he has hit 18 sixes in 216 deliveries, eight of them Sunday. Two of those knocks have won India games from the dead, and one of them gave South Africa a mighty scare after India had been 119 for 8, chasing 268. Two of those innings have come in South Africa against an attack that has peppered him with bouncers, in a series where no other batsman has managed to maintain a strike-rate of a run a ball. His strike-rate of 134.95 tells some other story. Yusuf has scars to show too. Twice in Cape Town, he was hit in the shoulder, but he just rubbed it and went about making the most of the loose deliveries. On Sunday, another delivery got him in the shoulder, after which he had to get some treatment. His response was to ask for a Powerplay, which he was denied. Even though it was still the start of the over, it seemed the umpires deemed the bowler, Johan Botha, was at his mark already. Hence, he was not allowed the Powerplay. Bad shoulder, no Powerplay, smack back-to-back sixes over the deep fielders' heads. You have got to fear Yusuf Pathan. On a day that seemed depressingly similar to India as the first day of the tour, when they were bowled out for 136, Yusuf provided them comfort. So much comfort that their captain later said that the lesson from today was that they can chase any total down in the last 10 overs, in the World Cup. That comfort comes from the knowledge that Yusuf will hurt anything remotely loose just as bad as anybody else does. Those margins of error reduce when he is playing in the form he is in right now. The thinking is not clear then, not with the captain, not with the bowlers. Graeme Smith later said that his side backed off a bit when Yusuf had got going, that his side wasn't as aggressive as it should have been. That, though, wasn't a conscious decision his side had made; that's what somebody hitting sixes as sweetly and cleanly as Yusuf was doing does to any side. Yusuf also seems to have added the cute - still powerful - shots to his repertoire. He reverse-swept for a six, he flicked over short fine leg from outside off, he ran hard between the wickets. In a 100-run partnership for the ninth wicket, Zaheer Khan, his partner, scored only 13. That South Africa were worried could be seen, that India were feeling it could be seen, that the crowd - no matter who they supported - was enjoying it could be heard. Yusuf's century off 68 balls, the sixth-fastest by an Indian, and the second-fastest outside the subcontinent, didn't win India the match: it was too much of a climb after the hole the top order had dug. When he walked back after his dismissal, not one person in the sold-out SuperSport Park was sitting. They knew they had seen something special: one of the best exhibitions of hitting in a losing cause. They let Yusuf know that. They were thanking Yusuf for rescuing the last day of what has been a thoroughly enjoyable tour for them. They won't say the tour ended in a whimper. There was a Yusuf Pathan bang at the end.

[flamy]

Ya, the Morkel shot was poor. He could've been a trifle more selective. However, I'm heartened by Dhoni's words. It means Yuppo is in the 11.

[rkt.india]

yeah he could have resisted to hit Morkal who is very difficult to slog with the extra bounce he possess...The win was certainly in the reach with 48 needed in 64..he could have done it with Zak in a proper manner...SA were getting loose and that could have been the best by an Indian in ODI cricket...if he had stayed till the end and these kind of innings made a player Immortal..

[Sachinism]

Ya' date=' the Morkel shot was poor. He could've been a trifle more selective. However, I'm heartened by Dhoni's words. It means Yuppo is in the 11.[/quote'] Yeh he got us into a position where we could afford to play out some deliveries and considering that Morkel was probably the biggest threat, he could have held back a bit.... oh well whats done is done

[achilles]

Its amazing to see the same people who severely criticized Yusuf and the chances being given to him have now switched sides.

[Fontaine]

Its amazing to see the same people who severely criticized Yusuf and the chances being given to him have now switched sides.

Well, Yusuf deserved a lot of criticism for the way he was a sitting duck against the short ball. But saying that he deserves full credit for mentally adjusting his game to limit himself and not take on bowlers against the short delivery and still have the confidence to rely on his batspeed, timing and incredible hitting power to slog anything that comes into his hitting zone. I've been most impressed by the way he's not only scored in a Sehwag like fashion but also has been able to build innings instead of just mindless slogging. Hope he can continue this kind of form in the WC.

[pensionplan]

Its amazing to see the same people who severely criticized Yusuf and the chances being given to him have now switched sides.

Why would they not criticize him for his earlier stints? And why would they not credit the same player that may have turned the corner now? Unless you mean to say the people should stay put and stay adamant and stick to their earlier stand just for the sake of if.

[achilles]

He will, Fontaine. Many of us kept the faith in him and look at the way in which he has repaid. This man is going to make India proud in the years to come.

[ch1234]

I don't think that shot off Morkel was the shot of a content man (with what he has already done) .. He wanted India to win.. With only Zak and Munaf with him, he has to go for all the opportunities.. Remember, the target was not below 20 runs, in which case you guys have a point..It was around 50 runs. He thought there is a ball to hit, he went for it.. Look at his dejected face when he was coming back.. He was weeping. He wanted to take India to win, but he couldnt.. Don't worry, Pathan.. Next time..

[The Outsider]

Can't blame him for his attempted shot off Morkel. It was a full delivery - the kind he was targeting throughout his innings. And he had scored 18 runs off a previous Morkel over. Yeah, it did not come off but certainly won't go down as a poor shot in my books.

[achilles]

I don't think that shot off Morkel was the shot of a content man (with what he has already done) .. He wanted India to win.. With only Zak and Munaf with him, he has to go for all the opportunities.. Remember, the target was not below 20 runs, in which case you guys have a point..It was around 50 runs. He thought there is a ball to hit, he went for it.. Look at his dejected face when he was coming back.. He was weeping. He wanted to take India to win, but he couldnt.. Don't worry, Pathan.. Next time..

Yes. I too noticed him trying hard to keep his emotions in check. He almost won us a game that we had lost.

[Ranjha]

Pure Power this man. That shot was on for sure..cant criticize him one bit for it.

[Ram]

Nobody is questioning the intent of the shot, but the execution was not where it should have been. Of course, if the ball is there to be hit, there’s absolutely no harm going for it. Criticizing Yusuf for going for a big hit is for sure hypocritical, especially if you enjoy some of his previous strokes that cleared the boundary. But, the way he played that stroke – a wild swing that seemed to have been fueled by excessive adrenalin – tells us that, within himself, he had already come to a conclusion that he had done enough for the match. Maybe euphoria of reaching a 100 simply overwhelmed him, who knows. Yusuf, in his present form, is hugely dangerous already. But, if he graduates to the next level, he could end up being the most dangerous ODI batsmen in the world.

[Jersey #10]

Sehwag (Best opener) Sachin (Best batsman EVER) Gambhir (Mr. dependable of team India) Yuvraj (Out of form) Dhoni (Severely out of form) Raina (amazing given Indian conditions) YP (Peak of his life time and the best finisher) Only if MSD and UV can find some form, we would have an unbeatable batting line up.

[Chaos]

Sehwag (Best opener) Sachin (Best batsman EVER) Gambhir (Mr. dependable of team India) Yuvraj (Out of form) Dhoni (Severely out of form) Raina (amazing given Indian conditions) YP (Peak of his life time and the best finisher) Only if MSD and UV can find some form, we would have an unbeatable batting line up.

yea lets leave out no.2 ranked batsman for fatso like yuvraj...:hysterical::hysterical:

[ch1234]

Nobody is questioning the intent of the shot, but the execution was not where it should have been. Of course, if the ball is there to be hit, there’s absolutely no harm going for it. Criticizing Yusuf for going for a big hit is for sure hypocritical, especially if you enjoy some of his previous strokes that cleared the boundary. But, the way he played that stroke – a wild swing that seemed to have been fueled by excessive adrenalin – tells us that, within himself, he had already come to a conclusion that he had done enough for the match. Maybe euphoria of reaching a 100 simply overwhelmed him, who knows. Yusuf, in his present form, is hugely dangerous already. But, if he graduates to the next level, he could end up being the most dangerous ODI batsmen in the world.

Wild swing?.. He was looking for that midwicket area (which had yielded him a number of runs against the Pacers yesterday).. But the late movement done him in.. Ball was there to hit..I would like you to watch again that shot..

[Ram]

Wild swing?.. He was looking for that midwicket area (which had yielded him a number of runs against the Pacers yesterday).. But the late movement done him in.. Ball was there to hit..I would like you to watch again that shot..

Mid-wicket? Seem like you’re the one who has to watch it again. He was quite clearly looking to go down the ground.

[ch1234]

Mid-wicket? Seem like you’re the one who has to watch it again. He was quite clearly looking to go down the ground.

Look here, man,,, where he was intending to go... [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbsnDgTa1k0]YouTube - INDIA VS SOUTH AFRICA 5TH ODI PART 3 CENTURION FALL OF WICKETS INDIAN INNINGS[23 JAN 2011][/ame] Clearly for midwicket..

[Ram]

^ Not so clear for me. He seems to be going down the ground.