Pathan Plays Like One

It was a partnership that powered the Kolkata Knight Riders to victory on the first day of the 2010 Indian Premier League (IPL). It was a partnership that helped the Mumbai Indians hold off a Yusuf Pathan-inspired Rajasthan Royals on the second.

For Kolkata, Angelo Mathews and Owais Shah put on 130 for the fifth wicket, taking their team to a competitive 160 against the Deccan Chargers. For Mumbai, Saurabh Tiwary, the big left-hander, and Ambati Rayudu added 110 for the fourth when the Rajasthan Royals threatened to bounce back into the game with some quick Mumbai wickets.

There have been bigger partnerships in the Indian Premier League as well as Twenty20 internationals. The record in the IPL is 155 for the first wicket by Adam Gilchrist and VVS Laxman for the Deccan Chargers against Mumbai in 2008. The T20 international record is held by the South African opening pair of Graeme Smith and Loots Bosman. They rattled 170 against England in Centurion last year. But that takes nothing away from the two pairs mentioned above.

How does a partnership take hold in a format wrongly notorious for lacking nuances? What is the strategy? What do batsmen talk about at the crease? In short, what challenges do batsmen face when putting on a stand in a Twenty20 match?

Mumbai Indians captain Sachin Tendulkar offered a clue when he analysed the effort of Tiwary and Rayudu: “They hit shots consistently and stayed more or less till the end,” Tendulkar said. “It was a special partnership which set the ball rolling for us.” The tipping point, however, was the fielding masterstroke of Rajagopal Sathish. Tendulkar said as much.

Pathan had just set the record for the fastest century in the IPL—100 off 37 balls. In the 1975 World Cup, Sunil Gavaskar scored nearly as many (36) as the balls Yusuf faced, and stuck around for 174 deliveries to score those runs. Pathan had singlehandedly put the Royals on the road to victory, which seemed unlikely when the team was 66/4 in the tenth over while chasing Mumbai’s formidable 212. “Tendulkar is the greatest batsman of his generation, but Yusuf’s innings was the best I’ve seen,” Shane Warne said.

Pathan’s hits easily cleared the boundaries at the Brabourne stadium, brought further in for the IPL. Attempts to bowl him or get him out leg before were proving futile too as he was digging out even good yorkers. It seemed the only way he could be conquered was a run-out. This realisation did not desert Satish even as he lay on the ground after diving to his right to stop a straight hit from Paras Dogra. Seeing Pathan had backed up too far, Satish had the presence of mind to flick the ball at the stumps. Being sprawled on the pitch, covered in dirt, could never have been more enjoyable for the 29-year-old from Tamil Nadu.

Pathan’s statistics remind you of people who have many cars. Something that people normally have a few of, Pathan has plenty. He hit nine sixes against Mumbai. His strike rate was about 270.

It turned out to be a good day for the rebel cricketers from the ICL whom the BCCI and IPL have admitted back into their fold after a period of penance. Both Tiwary and Rayudu have ICL backgrounds. So does Sathish. Somewhere, Subhash Chandra, the ICL boss, must have squirmed.

It was a partnership that powered the Kolkata Knight Riders to victory on the first day of the 2010 Indian Premier League (IPL). It was a partnership that helped the Mumbai Indians hold off a Yusuf Pathan-inspired Rajasthan Royals on the second.

For Kolkata, Angelo Mathews and Owais Shah put on 130 for the fifth wicket, taking their team to a competitive 160 against the Deccan Chargers. For Mumbai, Saurabh Tiwary, the big left-hander, and Ambati Rayudu added 110 for the fourth when the Rajasthan Royals threatened to bounce back into the game with some quick Mumbai wickets.

There have been bigger partnerships in the Indian Premier League as well as Twenty20 internationals. The record in the IPL is 155 for the first wicket by Adam Gilchrist and VVS Laxman for the Deccan Chargers against Mumbai in 2008. The T20 international record is held by the South African opening pair of Graeme Smith and Loots Bosman. They rattled 170 against England in Centurion last year. But that takes nothing away from the two pairs mentioned above.

How does a partnership take hold in a format wrongly notorious for lacking nuances? What is the strategy? What do batsmen talk about at the crease? In short, what challenges do batsmen face when putting on a stand in a Twenty20 match?

Mumbai Indians captain Sachin Tendulkar offered a clue when he analysed the effort of Tiwary and Rayudu: “They hit shots consistently and stayed more or less till the end,” Tendulkar said. “It was a special partnership which set the ball rolling for us.” The tipping point, however, was the fielding masterstroke of Rajagopal Sathish. Tendulkar said as much.

Pathan had just set the record for the fastest century in the IPL—100 off 37 balls. In the 1975 World Cup, Sunil Gavaskar scored nearly as many (36) as the balls Yusuf faced, and stuck around for 174 deliveries to score those runs. Pathan had singlehandedly put the Royals on the road to victory, which seemed unlikely when the team was 66/4 in the tenth over while chasing Mumbai’s formidable 212. “Tendulkar is the greatest batsman of his generation, but Yusuf’s innings was the best I’ve seen,” Shane Warne said.

Pathan’s hits easily cleared the boundaries at the Brabourne stadium, brought further in for the IPL. Attempts to bowl him or get him out leg before were proving futile too as he was digging out even good yorkers. It seemed the only way he could be conquered was a run-out. This realisation did not desert Satish even as he lay on the ground after diving to his right to stop a straight hit from Paras Dogra. Seeing Pathan had backed up too far, Satish had the presence of mind to flick the ball at the stumps. Being sprawled on the pitch, covered in dirt, could never have been more enjoyable for the 29-year-old from Tamil Nadu.

Pathan’s statistics remind you of people who have many cars. Something that people normally have a few of, Pathan has plenty. He hit nine sixes against Mumbai. His strike rate was about 270.

It turned out to be a good day for the rebel cricketers from the ICL whom the BCCI and IPL have admitted back into their fold after a period of penance. Both Tiwary and Rayudu have ICL backgrounds. So does Sathish. Somewhere, Subhash Chandra, the ICL boss, must have squirmed.

About The Author

Akshay Sawai