Cricket Update: Pakistani batsman Younis pleased with his batting effort on day three of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754
Pakistan’s batting ace Younis Khan was a content man after his 73 runs knock gave the tourists slight advantage on day three of the second and final test against New Zealand being played at the Basin Reserve in Wellington.
The seasoned campaigner who has also captained his country at the highest level looked at his fluent best before being undone by an umpiring howler that triggered a batting collapse, shortening the lead the tourists looked set to garner during his partnership
with captain http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Misbah-ul-Haq-c1972.
The association was cut short by another woeful umpiring decision in the test as Younis was given out, caught at short leg when there was daylight between the bat and the ball bowled by Daniel Vettori. Younis stated that the decisions were part and parcel
of the game "We were a little unlucky because we were almost at 150 runs with the partnership. It's in the nature of the game and the umpires are also human so I think you can't blame anyone for that decision. In future I think we need referrals in Test
games, in One Dayers and in Twenty20s as well."
The Mardan born batsman was pleased at making a handy contribution in the game especially after his lean trot on the tour so far.
"I had a hundred against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 and now I have a good innings here as well,"
said Younis. "Before the World Cup you need a couple of good innings like today's one, so I'm happy about that."
"I needed an innings because I couldn't make any runs in the Twenty20s and in the first Test I only scored 20 plus," said Younis.
"Today at the crease I just wanted to stay in, face more balls and play some shots."
Meanwhile, Younis admitted that the conditions at the Basin Reserve were extremely tricky, the winds at the venue have been picking pace all the time making it tough for both batsmen and bowlers. Even a veteran of international cricket like Younis found
the going tough, albeit the conditions eased a bit on the third day of the match.
"It was my first time playing in these windy conditions. But as an international cricketer you're supposed to do well in these conditions. I've already played eight or nine years in international cricket, so I should be used to it. The wind today wasn't
as bad today as it was in the last couple of days, so I was lucky."
Pakistan’s 20 runs lead means that the match is delicately poised the hosts went to stumps at 9 for no loss and would be aiming to bat for most part of tomorrow and set the tourists a tricky chase in the fourth innings. The fourth day is set to decide the
fortune of the game as well as the series; the hosts have to do all the running after losing the first match.
Younis thinks that the team that plays well tomorrow is most likely to win the match,
“The match is quite even at the moment and whoever plays well tomorrow will have a good chance. The pitch is slow and it's turning as well. It's not a pacy one, so if you play proper shots at the crease you have a good chance to score good runs at the end”,
concluded Younis.
The series is of real importance for both teams who endured a wretched run in 2010, cricket fans in Wellington are in for a treat if the two teams fight out the last two days with the kind of determination that they exhibited in the first three days.
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