DUBAI - Younus Khan said Wednesday it was never easy for him in his career but he went out in the field always just keeping in mind that if I do something in the field it would make me a proud Pakistan.
"It has never been easy for me throughout my career. Things keep going against me but all the time I play for my country and whenever my team needs me I go there and play positive cricket with positive body language and it was in my mind that if I do something here I will be a proud Pakistani."
And surely the first day of the first Test brings that proud reward for his patriotism he filled the blank with his another patient hundred against Australia to tick all the ton boxes against Test playing countries.
And Younus was candid to share his moment of joy and honour with pride. “The feeling is very nice, it’s an honour and I feel proud to become the first Pakistani to score against all countries,” said Younus. “It was never in my mind before but when I scored a hundred in Sri Lanka it came on my mind, when I equalled Yousuf’s record of 24 then it came to my mind that I have no hundreds against Australia. And then equalling the great Inzamam’s record, it’s an even bigger honour to be equal with him.”
He said his family and friends back home always motivated and backed him and they made him believe that after failure of scoring a hundred against Australia in past six Tests, this was the time that he would hit a ton against Aussies.
He praised the Australian bowlers intensity and commitment and said they did not let any easy runs to come and strived hard in hot and extreme conditions to keep the batsmen under pressure. He also praised his fellow batsman Azhar Ali who played brilliantly to put a 100-plus partnership with Younus.
The two achieved their goal with some dogged batting. Along the way, they took some blows from Mitchell Johnson but didn’t allow the Australian spinners to settle down. Right from the outset, Nathan Lyon was swept and Steve O’Keefe nudged into vast spaces on the leg side, as the debutant failed to make an impact.
“It was very tough, for both me and Azhar. We were two down and at that time the situation was not easy. So we were talking to each other to stay focused and stay on the pitch until lunch,” said Younus afterwards. “But after spending some time together on the pitch, me and Azhar felt that runs are possible and we can build a 100-run partnership. It is always nice to play with youngsters. There was a lot of pressure on Azhar and myself to perform and we got out of the pressure situation very well by helping each other.”
About reaching his milestone with an aggressive sixer, quite contradictory to his approach throughout the innings, Younus said it was all about mind games. “Michael Clarke always plays mind games with batsmen and especially with me when I was on 99. I blocked the first ball and then decided to go for the hit as there was no fielder in the deep. Luckily, I was successfully able to middle the ball and the ball goes over the boundary.”
Younus said it would be nice if Pakistan able to score 400-plus runs to stay in the match. He said first two sessions would be crucial and if the batsmen survive the first two sessions like him and Azhar, another 200 runs would easily be added to the total.
JOHNSON PINS HOPES WITH SECOND NEW BALL: Mitchell Johnson thinks Australia must take advantage of the second new ball if they are to make early inroads against Pakistan on day two.
"We have to turn up and start pretty well," he said looking ahead to Thursday's play. "The ball is still pretty new and in good condition as well, so the first couple of overs are going to be important for us in the morning. You have really got to use that new ball and make them play early on.”
"We knew we had to focus on getting the ball up there, hit guys on the pads or get nicks early on. I think we stuck to our plan and didn't go away from it, I'm really happy with how we went about it today. Guys just have to be patient and that's what we did today, we worked as a bowling unit, we were patient and didn't let them get away. We are happy to be in this position and we just need to get ourselves right and turn up in the morning."
–RAHEEL HANIF