Choosing 'difficult path' pays off for Younis

Younis Khan, the Pakistan batsman, has said he chose the more difficult path by deciding to play the Tests against Australia, after being dropped for the ODIs, and the decision has paid off.

Younis had lashed out at the PCB and selectors for dropping him for the one-day series, and challenged them to build a team without him in the mix. However, he was picked for the Tests, and in Dubai he broke the record for the most Test hundreds for Pakistan, and became the first player in 40 years to score two hundreds in a Test against Australia.

He said he was happy he decided to play in the series. "There was a lot of talk about me, that I might not be picked in any team as I made myself unavailable," Younis said after the fourth day's play. "But when I saw Pakistan losing the T20 and ODI series comprehensively, I reconsidered my decision and thought a lot. I could have chosen an easy option, to shun playing against the top-ranked Australia, but I chose to put myself in a difficult situation instead of going away choosing the easy one - to quit.

"Whole of my career I have chosen the same path. Before coming here I had no hundred against Australia and now suddenly I have two in one Test, which is great. So it's all about how you think and I am positive and always wanted to make my country and myself proud. I never ever thought that I will achieve the record and go past Inzamam but after my 20th hundred I made myself believe that if I keep myself fit I can make 30-35 hundreds."

When asked if his second hundred against Australia was the result of the perfect execution of a plan, or whether he just went with the flow, Younis said: "I didn't even think about a hundred today, but I thought about the heat and that the Australia bowlers are not used to it, so I have stand firm and runs will come automatically.

"At the same time, both the youngsters Ahmed Shehzad and Azhar Ali have made it very easy for me to excel from the other end. The way Ahmed hit their fast bowlers today, it was amazing and it's always good when these youngsters perform. All these factors pushed me to make it to the end of the day."

Michael Clarke, the Australian captain, was all praise for Younis: "He's a very good player and has been for a long time. I found out yesterday this is only his 93rd Test match, I thought he'd played a lot more than that. He's one of the gentlemen of our game, a class player. I was really impressed with the way he swept, especially left-arm orthodox bowling. It takes a class player to be able to sweep against the spin in those conditions. I'd like to see him not make as many runs, especially against Australia, but I like watching Younis bat."

In response, Younis said he respected the game and his opponents, and so got respect in return. "Main thing is I respect the game, I respect the bowler and I respect [opposition] teams. Whoever performs anywhere in the world, I am happy for them all the time. When they meet with me, I just go and shake hands with them, congratulate them. In the field they might go hard at me, but they know me off the field too. I respect people and in return I do get respect."

That Pakistan have done so well with the bat in this game, and are in the great position they find themselves in going into the final day, is also due to the way their other second-innings centurion, Ahmed Shehzad, played. Shehzad said his only plan was to 'go for the kill'.

"Playing here is always difficult but I had to open and used all my skills - played sweep shots, used my feet, as the idea was to not let their spinners settle," Shehzad said. "Because I know if I play six balls standing in the crease, one of the balls might hit a patch and undo me, so I had to go at things hard rather than be dominated. It was obviously a test of fitness as well, but it was the team requirement not to give them the control. We had the lead and the plan was to go for the kill.

"My motivation was when Younis bhai told me that it took him 12 [14] years to score a hundred against Australia, 'so make sure you don't have to take that long'. So I was determined, and it worked well."