Yusuf Pathan

Yusuf Pathan reminds me of Vivian Richards, says VVS Laxman

A lot of things have been said and written about Yusuf Pathan, especially after his mind-boggling century against South Africa recently.

From being a fringe player, he has become a vital cog in the Indian wheel. He has always been an aggressive batsman, but VVS Laxman took him to an altogether different level when he said that the Baroda batsman reminded him of the great Vivian Richards.

For a batsman to be compared to Richards is similar to a techie being spoken of in the same breath as Steve Jobs.

It remains to be seen whether Pathan can emulate the gum-chewing West Indian, but Laxman surely thinks the 27-year-old is destined for greatness.

“He (Pathan) is unbelievable. The way he has batted against New Zealand and South Africa, he reminded me of Sir Viv Richards,” said Laxman, who was in Pune to conclude the ABIL Corporate Cricket Tournament.

“Yusuf is fearless and has a powerful game and the way he bats, he is surely a match-winner for the country. He is a destructive batsman and will be a crucial player in the World Cup,” Laxman said.

Laxman, who was liberal in his praise of Pathan, also showed faith in S Sreesanth, who has replaced the injured Praveen Kumar.

“It is very unfortunate that Praveen will miss the World Cup. At the same time, I feel Sreesanth is a good bowler and he has had a good stint in the last few series he played. So, we all hope that he will do well in the tournament,” said Laxman.

And like most experts, Laxman feels India will win the mega event. “We have a good team and I back them completely to win the cup. We have players who can win matches for the country and I can say that we will start as the favourites,” he said.

He went on, “Moreover, we have the advantage of playing in front of the home crowd, so that will also play a major role.” When asked about his favourite opening pair, Laxman said that it will be a tough call for the team management. “I feel all, Sachin (Tendulkar), Sehwag (Virender) and (Gautam) Gambhir are good at the position and it will be difficult for the management to take a call on it, but personally, I feel Sachin and Sehwag should be the ideal pair to open the innings,” he said.

Having given his thoughts on the Indian team and its chances in the World Cup, which he will not be a part of Laxman believes it will be one big vacuum in his career that he has never played in a World Cup. “I have played all formats of the game and almost 80 ODIs but what I miss is not having played in the World Cup. But I think that is a part and parcel of the game,” Laxman said.

The making of a marauder

It’s easy to find Yusuf Pathan’s house in Vadodara. All you have to do is tell the nearest taxi or rickshaw driver to take you there. No address required, just his name is enough. Along the way the driver is also likely to let you know that Yusuf is the kind of player who can take any bowling attack apart, anywhere in the world – an assertion that those who have watched Yusuf’s last few innings would be hard-pressed to deny.

I met Yusuf at his family home a couple days before he was due to leave for South Africa. He was dressed in a dark green kurta and sat on a wooden swing in a small rectangular garden running alongside the driveway. He exuded a quiet confidence, and for a big man with a violent game, was very soft-spoken. He grew up playing cricket with his half-brother Irfan. The two boys would play in the mosque where their father is an Imam, taking turns bowling and batting, but people complained they made too much noise. So they moved to the street, playing with a tennis ball, before they joined the Baroda Sports Club and found themselves under the tutelage of Mehendi Sheikh and Bashir Sheikh.

From there they quickly moved on to age-group cricket and continued up the ladder to first-class cricket. Along the way they received plenty of encouragement from senior players such as Jacob Martin and Connor Williams. “They would keep telling us to keep practising hard, keep putting in the effort and that one day you will play for India,” Yusuf said. “So we kept working and now we are playing for India.”

Bashir died in 2002, and to this day Mehendi remains one of the few people that Yusuf will listen to about cricket. Snehal Parekh, the secretary of the Baroda Cricket Association, says Yusuf is the kind of player who has his own inner circle and does not take kindly to anyone outside that trusted group giving him advice. “You can’t guide them,” he says. “You can’t tell them much. They have they have their own friends and one or two mentors.”

Pinal Shah, Baroda’s 23-year-old captain, agrees with that assessment, saying, “Yusuf is very aggressive in his approach to the game and not only in his batting. He can lift the team with his performance. But you have to handle him well; he needs a lot of independence. But I can still go and tell him, ‘Yusuf bhai, so-and-so needs to be done’.”

One person with whom Yusuf does talk cricket all the time is Irfan. The brothers share a close bond and are constantly encouraging each other. “It is beneficial to both of us to share our thoughts on the game,” Yusuf said. He says Irfan always told him he would do well in South Africa and Australia “because the bounce is good and the ball comes on to the bat well. So there I can play my strokes”.

He certainly did that in the recent ODI series against South Africa, making a match-winning 59 in third game before uncorking a vicious hundred in Centurion that almost stole the game and series from South Africa.

“I never have any doubts,” Yusuf said that day in the garden. “I know what I can do. The team also knows that if I am still at the wicket, then I can win the game.”

It is why he also dismisses those who question his ability to handle the short ball. Prior to the tour there were reservations about his ability to handle such deliveries on hard pitches outside the subcontinent, especially since he prefers to commit to the front foot to take advantage of anything pitched up. For the time being at least, Yusuf has answered those questions.

His approach in South Africa was simple: wait for anything that was in his zone and then club it to the boundary. He was hit on the body twice in Cape Town and once in Centurion, but he didn’t let it bother him. Like a heavyweight boxer who doesn’t need a jab because he has a devastating knockout punch, he waited for his opening. It proved to be a singularly effective strategy, as poor Lonwabo Tsotsobe can testify. In that Centurion game Yusuf hit him for two fours and two sixes in the same over, including one that was effectively a flick off his toes, yet the ball sailed over the long-on boundary. It was a sign that he is beginning to make the most of his strengths, which reflects his growing maturity as a cricketer.

“With experience, he is getting better,” Irfan said. “He is learning what to do and what not to do. He knows that even if he waits for two balls, the third ball will give him a chance to hit it. That is how he practises as well. He goes in the nets and makes sure to be aggressive.” That aggression is Yusuf’s hallmark, and the reason his aura will always be greater than his numbers. He may get out cheaply but he can also grab the game by the scruff of its neck and leave the opposition wishing they had taken up a different sport.

“He knows his game very well,” Irfan said. “So even if he gets out playing a shot, he will continue to play his shots in the next game. Some batsmen play defensive shots and get out, but that doesn’t mean they don’t play defensive shots in the next game. If he [Yusuf] thinks he can hit the ball, he will hit the ball. And more often than not he is successful.”

While Yusuf can make decimating an attack look easy, what people don’t see is how hard he works on his craft. He often spends hours practising at the Baroda Sports Club. After Baroda had eliminated Railways in the quarter-final of the Ranji Trophy on the basis of a first-innings lead, Yusuf stayed on the field and asked the groundsmen to put the nets up on the same pitch. “He was taking batting practice for an hour,” Parekh said. “He is very focused.”

Parekh, who is the only man to have made a first-class hundred on debut for Baroda, said three years ago the association decided Yusuf was ready for more responsibility and made him the vice-captain of the side. “What I told him was, ‘You should be ready for the match as if you were the captain, as Jacob Martin (then Baroda captain), could get injured and leave the ground and you have to be ready. Be involved in the game.’”

He believes the leadership role has spurred Yusuf to mature and show a willingness to take responsibility for his team’s performance; a willingness that is reflected in Yusuf’s own comments about the season. “There was a need this year in the Baroda team because Irfan was not playing. As a senior player I needed to take more initiative. Everyone was watching. It is good that we have success and have gotten good results.”

Another influence on Yusuf’s development has been Shane Warne, under whom he played for three years with the Rajasthan Royals. “He told me always when I am batting to play my shots,” Yusuf said. “He would say, ‘If you feel like the first ball is one you should hit, even if you get out on the first ball, if you feel you should play your shots from the first ball, play them. Don’t worry about getting out.’”

His epic 37-ball hundred against the Mumbai Indians in their opening game of the 2010 IPL is the direct result of that philosophy – an innings that Warne called the best he had ever seen. “That innings told me that we can win from anywhere,” Yusuf said. “We lost that match, but the way I played – 100 from 37 balls – made it a contest. And I have played these kinds of knocks before. From positions of no hope, I have won matches.

“Unfortunately I was run out. Otherwise we would have won that match. I guess the lesson is, when I have made a hundred and I’m batting well, I shouldn’t leave the crease.”

The IPL turned out to be the perfect showcase for Yusuf’s talents and, in his opinion, hastened his rise to the international ranks. “The way I performed in the IPL, I got a good platform. Because I was playing well in Ranji Trophy before that also, so probably it would have taken me longer to get here. The IPL gave me a name. It gave me a new identity.” That identity was rewarded many times over when the Kolkata Knight Riders bought him for US$2.1 million in the 2011 player auction earlier this year.

Success in the IPL, however, has not dimmed or muddled his ambitions one iota. Yusuf wants to play for India in all three forms of the game. “Everyone who plays cricket, their goals are to play the highest standard of cricket and all formats of cricket. Obviously those are my goals also. I want to play everything.”

He says he is comfortable batting in whatever position in the order the team needs him to bat in, because “I have come to understand that whatever position I play, from there I can carry the innings or the team. I have won many matches that way.” It might sound arrogant to say, but for Yusuf it is merely a self-evident truth.

Not that it has always been smooth sailing for him. He made his ODI debut in 2008, but lost his place in the side in late 2009 after some mediocre performances. Here too his innate self-belief stood him in good stead and helped him keep things in perspective. “These things happen. Sometimes people are dropped. Sometimes people are in the team. Sometimes you do well. Sometimes you don’t do so well. These things go on happening in a cricketer’s life, so you can’t think something is wrong. You just have to keep putting in the effort and things will take care of themselves.”

Yusuf’s other advantage is his offspin. He has been working hard on his bowling, and this Ranji season took as many wickets, 24, as India offspinner R Ashwin did in the same number of matches, but with a significantly better average and strike rate: 17.75 and 37.70 to Ashwin’s 24.20 and 54.50. If Yusuf can continue to develop his bowling to the point where he is a genuine wicket-taking allrounder, he will be that much more valuable to the team, especially in the shorter versions of the game.

He is eager to play in the World Cup, saying he “will go mad if we win”. He considers playing at home a big advantage and does not think the expectations of the fans will put added pressure on the team. “How can there be pressure when you are playing in front of your own people, who give you so much support?”

I tell him what the rickshaw driver told me on the way over and for a moment he loosens up and lets out a big laugh. “Bring the driver in here. I’d like to meet him”. He is careful not to take his fans for granted.

After the interview is over Yusuf heads for namaaz, but stops to take pictures with two teenage boys who had been waiting outside his house.

Off the field, he likes to keep a low profile. The high life is not for him. He prefers to stay at home and spend time with his family and friends (“I like family time”). He is also grateful for all the support he has received from the people around him. “My father, my mother, my friends, everyone supported us. It can’t happen without family support. Nobody has ever said not to do this.”

The way he is going, nobody ever will.

You have got to fear Yusuf Pathan

Yusuf Pathan has shrugged off blows to the shoulder, rescued India from dire situations, and proven himself to be a force to be reckoned with.

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.

South Africa take series despite blazing Yusuf ton

Yusuf Pathan launched the sort of assault that has made him a rich man to ensure it wasn’t all one-way in Centurion but it wasn’t enough to prevent South Africa from snatching the series with a 33-run victory. After a tough tour over the past month-and-a-half, the last day of the series seemed set to be an anti-climactic non-scrap courtesy yet another Hashim Amla century and a slew of reckless strokes from the Indians.

Yusuf, though, blasted a century of utter violence when all looked lost, and after an hour of Yusuf, the South African bowling was looking clueless and India were 49 short, dreaming of a miraculous win. Yusuf clubbed a 68-ball century but holed out soon after, much to the relief of the Sunday crowd at Supersport Park.

The tour had begun with South Africa’s crushing Test victory in Centurion and ends with another defeat for the visitors at the same venue. One reason India’s bowlers will be thrilled to be heading back home will be that there will be less sparring with Amla, who has plundered more than 1100 runs in the past 11 months against India in Test and one-dayers. He collected another 116 on Sunday to push South Africa to a tall total in a rain-hit match.

MS Dhoni had chosen to bowl on winning the toss, perhaps swayed by Supersport Park reputation of being a ground where it is easy to chase in day games. No matter what the past record, though, it is unlikely any team can win when its top-order combusts so spectacularly and heedlessly as India’s. Barring Virat Kohli, the rest of the top six were dismissed not by unplayable deliveries but by attempts at extravagant strokes.

Rohit Sharma’s horror series ended as he was bowled by Lonwabo Tsotsobe going for a loose drive through the line; Dhoni’s imperious cut ended as an edge to first slip; Yuvraj Singh edged two boundaries to third man before giving catching practice to JP Duminy at point; Suresh Raina smashed a couple of fours before an upper cut sailed to third man; Parthiv Patel was the only one in the top order to inspire confidence, middling nearly every ball for the second innings in a row before falling to a debatable diving catch by Faf du Plessis at cover. India were 74 for 6 in the 14th over, and their only hope of saving the series seemed to be if the ominous clouds circling the stadium brought a massive downpour which washed away the match before the 20th over.

Yusuf blasts India ahead

Some big hitting from Yusuf Pathan helped India beat South Africa by two wickets in Cape Town to take a 2-1 lead in their five-match ODI series. Zaheer Khan took three wickets as India restricted South Africa to just 220 all out in their innings, with the home tail collapsing after a century stand between debutant Francois ‘Faf’ du Plessis and JP Duminy.

India were steady in their response but a quick-fire 59 from Yusuf, including three sixes in one over, gave them the boost they needed to comfortably get home at 223-8 with ten balls to spare. South Africa skipper Graeme Smith made 43 from 79 balls at the top of the order, but he could not form a decent partnership with batsmen falling at the other end.

Du Plessis and Duminy combined for 110 for the fifth wicket, but the runs did not exactly come at great speed, and after they went in the 45th and 46th over respectively the Proteas tail was unable to hit some much-needed late runs.

PartnershipsRohit Sharma (23) and Virat Kholi (28) made an early 52-run partnership, but India lost wickets alarmingly and slumped to 93-5 at the halfway point of their innings.

Suresh Raina (37) and Yusuf smacked 75 between them, including 19 runs in the 30th over when Yusuf bludgeoned three massive sixes, in what was a pivotal over for the tourists that allowed them to relax. Yusuf also hit six fours in his 50-ball innings of 59 before he was caught by Morne Morkel as one of Dale Steyn’s two wickets of the day. Harbhajan Singh then did the final bit of work with an unbeaten 23 from 25 balls helping steer India to victory and a 2-1 lead in the series. Morkel was the pick of the South African attack, looking dangerous but also keeping it tight as he to 3-28 from his ten overs, while Steyn offered the most assistance as he took 2-31.

WaywardElsewhere it was another story though with Wayne Parnell wayward and expensive during his eight-over spell of 0-53, while Johan Botha was clobbered by Yusuf for those three big sixes as he returned figures of 1-48 from 7.2 overs.

India certainly outbowled their hosts at Newlands, with Zaheer taking 3-43 from just 9.2 overs as he got the ball rolling by forcing Hashim Amla to inside-edge a good-length ball which uprooted his off stump on 16. Harbhajan was also effective and ultra-stingy as he conceded just 23 runs from his nine overs while taking the prize wicket of skipper Smith and also seeing off Colin Ingram as he was caught behind.

Munaf Patel added 2-42 as India moved 2-1 ahead in the series heading into the fourth match at Port Elizabeth on Frida .Patel inspires India fightback India sealed an unlikely one-run win over South Africa in the second one-day international at the Wanderers on Saturday.

…South Africa v India – 15th January 2011 India Win By One Run The term ‘chokers’ comes to mind and it all started when Duminy tossed his wicket away. All credit to India’s attack, particularly Patel and Zaheer, who hit back after shoddy opening spells. So ends a cliffhanger. The series is squared at one win apiece, with the third ODI at Newlands on Tuesday.

….Tendulkar ton drives India Sachin Tendulkar’s 51st Test century and couple of late wickets for Harbhajan Singh left the series decider between India and South Africa evenly poised after three days at Newlands.

‘I’d decided on playing my shots, for that’s my strength’

We believe we can win from any situation, says Yusuf

- ‘I’d decided on playing my shots, for that’s my strength’

Cape Town: A couple of hours after former India captain Ravi Shastri told The Telegraph that Yusuf Pathan had the ability to win big matches on his own, the Baroda all-rounder did just that, on Tuesday.

Later, the 28-year-old Yusuf (Irfan’s elder brother) took questions from the media in general and, briefly, spoke separately to this newspaper.

The following are excerpts

His thoughts on taking guard under pressure, with India 93 for five

I’d decided on playing my shots, for that’s my strength… Jaldibaazi nahin karna tha, but to play my shots sensibly.

Smashing three sixes

(Grins) I was playing to my strengths and went for the distance on the suitable balls.

Returning to Newlands (after IPL II)

Mazaa aya. Generally, I like all cricket grounds.

South Africa captain Graeme Smith’s comment that he was the difference between the teams

The team played well… In fact, both teams played well, but we played better… Hum log achcha cricket khele.

Having counter-attacked superbly

The advantage of doing so is that the opposition goes on the backfoot and too many thoughts start entering the captain’s mind. Unko backfoot mein daalna tha.

Devastated on getting out

Could have hit another six, yes… But one learns from mistakes… I was very disappointed, but Bhajji (Harbhajan Singh) and (Ashish) Nehra saw us through.

MoM award dedicated to…

My mummy (Shamim Bano) and daddy (Mehmood Khan).

India again pulling off a tight game

That’s because we believe we can win from any situation… We know how to play under pressure.

Role played by captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni

It’s huge… Even the support staff plays a big role… We’re kept in good shape, physically and mentally.

Whether he’s now cemented his place in the team

All cricketers go through periods of ups and downs… Such phases will be there, but you’ve got to keep working hard… Mehnat karna padta hai. That’s what I do.

Frame of mind in South Africa’s camp

Obviously, they’ll be low on confidence… Being 1-2 down, the pressure is much more on them.

Having been picked in a World Cup squad for the first time

Not thinking of the World Cup just yet… Abhi matches baaki hain in South Africa… Pehle to yahan series jeetna hai. It’s one thing at a time.

Now, excerpts from Smith’s interaction with the media, at Newlands, on Tuesday:

Whether 220 could have been defended

It did give us a chance, as the wicket wasn’t easy to bat on… It was up-and-down and two-paced… 240 would’ve been a good total, would’ve given us a real shout… We fell 20 runs short and, then, missed chances.

Yusuf’s innings

He was the difference between the teams… India were under pressure and he counter-attacked… We knew what he’s capable of.

Trailing in the series

It will be important to do the right things… The last two matches have been close and, well, we could’ve been 2-1 up or even 3-0.

If the World Cup selection was adding to the pressure on some players

Now that the squad has been picked, it’s going to ‘free’ the guys and they can, perhaps, play freely in the remaining matches.

Fielding five bowlers…

It was a 50-50 call… Fact is we ended up some 20 runs short.

Debutant Faf du Plessis catching the eye, top-scoring with 60

He was fantastic under pressure… He’s got something special.

Whether Johan Botha is turning out to be the weakest link in his attack

(Irritated) Let’s move to the next question.

Finally, on South Africa’s reluctance to take on Harbhajan

He’s been bowling really well, let’s give him credit.

Yusuf Pathan set $2m record at IPL auction

INDIA’S Gautam Gambhir and Yusuf Pathan yesterday became the first cricketers to be bought for more than $2 million at an Indian Premier League auction.

Cameron White attracted the biggest price for an Australian on the opening day of the two-day auction held in Bangalore, $US1.1 million ($A1.11 million) by Deccan Chargers.

Veteran Adam Gilchrist was bought for $US900,000 by Kings XI Punjab, while Mumbai Indians paid $US850,000 for Andrew Symonds.

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Left-handed opener Gambhir, the first player to go under the hammer for the tournament’s fourth edition, was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for $US2.4 million, far higher than his base price of $US200,000.

Gambhir was joined in the exclusive bracket by all-rounder Pathan, snapped up by the same franchise for $US2.1 million. Pathan’s reserve was $US300,000.

The Indians eclipsed the record price of England duo of Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff, who went for $US1.55 million each in 2009.

This time, Pietersen, with a base price of $US400,000, was bought by Deccan Chargers for $US650,000. Among the $US1 million men were New Zealander Ross Taylor, India’s Yuvraj Singh, South African AB de Villiers and Sri Lankan Mahela Jayawardene.

Former West Indies captain Brian Lara and a host of England’s Ashes heroes are among 353 players up for grabs. Lara and England paceman James Anderson are among 21 with the highest reserve price of $US400,000 for a three-year contract.

Other foreign players on offer included South Africans Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis, and New Zealand’s Daniel Vettori.

The annual IPL tournament began in 2008 with a blend of international star players, Twenty20 matches and Bollywood glamour. But its fortunes dipped dramatically last year after allegations of massive corruption, money-laundering and tax evasion, as well as secret deals to hide teams’s real owners, and even links to India’s criminal underworld.

IPL founder Lalit Modi was thrown out by the BCCI, the sport’s governing body in India, over accusations about his conduct and organisers hope this year will be fresh start.

The tournament, be held from April 8 to May 22, features 10 teams, including two new sides — Pune Warriors and Kochi.

Twelve players have been retained by their original franchises, with Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni staying with the Chennai Super Kings and Shane Warne and Shane Watson sticking with Rajasthan Royals. Big names to opt out include the Australian trio of Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and Mitchell Johnson, and former India captain Anil Kumble.

Cricket World® Player Of The Week – Yusuf Pathan

Indian all-rounder Yusuf Pathan has been named as the Cricket World® Player Of The Week after his starring performances helped his side beat New Zealand 5-0 in their One-Day International series.

In the fourth ODI in Bangalore, Pathan returned three for 49 in nine overs, picking up the wickets of Scott Styris, Daniel Vettori and Kyle Mills as New Zealand made 315 for seven.

Then, coming to the crease with the score on 108 for four, he proceeded to make a blistering maiden ODI century to steer India to victory. He hit seven fours and seven sixes in an impressive innings of 123 not out in just 96 balls, forging a crucial partnership with Saurabh Tiwary to guide India past their target with seven balls to spare.

In the final match in Chennai, Pathan was again handy with the ball, taking two for 11 in three overs as New Zealand were dismissed for just 103.

Pathan again dismissed Vettori, as well as Nathan McCullum and the performance of India’s bowlers in limiting New Zealand to such a low score ensured he wasn’t required to bat again.

Other contenders for the weekly award included Pathan’s team-mate Parthiv Patel, who marked his return to the ODI side with a pair of half-centuries, Tamim Iqbal, who blasted 95 to help Bangladesh beat Zimbabwe 3-1 in their ODI series, and James Franklin, who scored a career-best 98 not out in the fourth ODI in Bangalore for New Zealand.

Hindu: Yusuf is ideal man for No. 7 spot

Yusuf Pathan’s astonishing onslaught that ambushed the Kiwis in Bangalore on Tuesday should end the debate on India’s No. 7 for the World Cup.

In the sub-continental conditions — the key factor really — he is a match-winner. India plays all except one duel — its opening game in Dhaka — on what are likely to be batsman-friendly tracks at home and Yusuf represents a clear and present danger to the opponents.

Horses for courses On these pitches, he is unlikely to be overly troubled by hostile short-pitched bowling from the quicks. And the pacemen are unlikely to achieve the sort of lateral movement that probes a batsman’s technique. We are talking horses for courses here.

The chances are that Yusuf’s incredible power-hitting could blow away opponents. He strikes the ball hard and clean between long-off and long-on, can cut and pull the lesser pacemen. The 28-year-old Yusuf’s stunning 96-ball 123 not out that sunk the Kiwis at the Chinnaswamy Stadium showcased his ability to swing matches from adverse situations.

This was an innings where he surfaced at No. 6 and caused havoc. When the big boys return, he is likely to be pushed to the No. 7 slot.

This is the right position for Yusuf. He could be destructive in the batting power play and catapult the innings to bulky totals in the final 10 to 15 overs. Not too many batsmen clear the ground as effortlessly as Yusuf does.

Bumpy ride

His ride in the ODIs, so far, has been a largely bumpy one. Yusuf, however, has, at least on two occasions, pulled his weight at No. 7 for India. His unbeaten 50 (off 29 balls) against England at Indore in 2008 and 59 not out (38b) versus Sri Lanka in Colombo in 2009 were influential blitzkriegs.

From a psychological perspective, Yusuf gives the side a mental edge in the sub-continent. Even when things go wrong, the side realises it has a game-changer in the hut. And the opposition is often wary.

Yusuf’s ODI record of 528 runs from 41 matches at 29.33 with one century could read a lot better in the crucial days to come. To their credit, the selectors and the team have backed him.

The lanky cricketer’s off-spin has proved useful in the abbreviated forms of the game. He is quicker through the air, does not provide the batsmen room to get under the ball for the big hits and can strike with bounce.

Yusuf has 27 scalps in the ODIs at 36.18. In the ongoing series, he has displayed greater consistency in his bowling; Yusuf has six wickets at an economy rate of 5.34.

India, clearly, does not have someone with better credentials for the No. 7 slot than Yusuf.

Meanwhile, the teams arrived here on Wednesday afternoon for the final match of the series on Friday. Both sides preferred to stay in the team hotel. With its confidence high, India seeks a 5-0 whitewash while the Kiwis remain in a seemingly endless tunnel.

Excellent drainage

While the threat of rain disrupting the contest looms large, the ground itself appeared dry. Tamil Nadu Cricket Association Secretary K.S. Viswanathan said: “The drainage facility at the ground here is excellent. In fact, when Andy Atkinson, the chief curator of the ICC, was here for an inspection he was lavish in his praise. Even if it rains hard, we can start the match within an hour of the downpour stopping.”

Viswanathan revealed, “Six of the new-look stands — A, B, C, D, E and F — are ready. But for the roof, the structure of stands G and H are complete. We will have seating in the lower bowl for these two stands. Each of the stands will have three tiers. Stand I is the only one where some more work needs to be done.”

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