COLOMBO:
Pakistan are eager to celebrate senior batsman Younis Khan’s 100th Test appearance with a series-clinching victory against Sri Lanka in the match starting here on Thursday.
Misbah-ul Haq’s tourists are riding high after a 10-wicket triumph in the opening Test in Galle even though the first four sessions of the match were washed out.
Misbah wants his team to perform equally well in the 37-year-old Younis’s landmark Test at the P. Sara Oval and take an unbeatable lead in the three-match series — a feat which has eluded them on Sri Lankan soil since 2006.
“Younis is the backbone and a very special member of the Pakistan team,” Misbah told reporters on Wednesday.
“Playing 100 Tests is a huge achievement for any cricketer.
“He brings a lot of value to the team and brings a lot of good, positive energy. We all wish he can make his 100th Test memorable with a lot of runs. And we want to honour him by winning the match.”
Right-handed Younis will become only the fifth Pakistani to play 100 or more Tests after Javed Miandad (124), Inzamam-ul Haq (119), Wasim Akram (104) and Salim Malik (103).
Younis’s 8,594 runs put him in third place among Pakistan’s leading run-getters in Tests behind Miandad, who scored 8,832 runs, and Inzamam (8,829).
Younis’s 29 Test centuries, the same as Australian legend Donald Bradman, are the most by any Pakistan batsman. Inzamam is in second place with 25.
Younis said it was a “dream come true” to be playing his 100th Test, but he still has goals to fulfil before hanging up his boots.
“It’s like a dream come true because I wished for it,” Younis said. “When I played my first Test, I got a taste of this format and started developing a desire to play 100-plus Test matches.
“I will call off my career with grace, but I still have some goals in my mind and I am close to achieving those goals as well. I can’t share that goal at this point, but you will know very soon.”
Misbah said the tourists were hungry for further success after they fought back from 96-5 in their first innings to record an emphatic win in Galle.
Leg-spinner Yasir Shah ripped through Sri Lanka’s second innings with figures of 7-76, leaving Pakistan a modest victory target of 90 runs.
“We gained a lot of confidence from the first Test and just want to carry that momentum in the remaining games,” the 41-year-old Misbah said.
“Everyone is focused on tomorrow’s Test. We can’t afford to live in the past. Every new match is a fresh start.”
Misbah hinted that all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez was likely to bowl in the match even though umpires reported his action after the Galle Test for a second time in seven months.
Hafeez, who was cleared to bowl in April after being reported for the first time last November, is expected to undergo mandatory testing next week. But regulations allow him to bowl till the test results are declared.
If his action is found to be illegal after testing, Hafeez will not be allowed to bowl for a year.
“It’s very disappointing that he [Hafeez] is under the radar again,” said Misbah. “It can be so frustrating for the bowler to be reported a second time.
“But the good thing is that he can still bowl in this match and that’s a plus point for us. He has an important role to play.”
Meanwhile, Sri Lankan captain Angelo Mathews said batting great Kumar Sangakkara is still in talks with the selectors to discuss his retirement from Test cricket.
Local media had speculated that the 37-year-old will only play three more home Tests — two in the ongoing series against Pakistan and one against India in August — before ending his glittering 15-year career.
But Mathews, speaking to reporters at the P. Sara Oval, said the team’s senior pro had still not made up his mind.
“Kumar has still to confirm his retirement plans,” the skipper captain said. “He was supposed to meet the press over the last few days, but he has not done that yet.
“I know he is still talking to the selectors.”
Left-handed Sangakkara is the leading current Test batsmen. His 12,271 runs and 38 centuries far exceed second-placed Alastair Cook of England, who has 9,000 runs and 27 hundreds.
The 131-Test veteran is unlikely to catch up with record-holder Sachin Tendulkar’s Test tally of 15,921 runs and 51 hundreds, but his 11 scores of 200-plus are just one short of Australian legend Don Bradman’s record of 12.
Mathews denied that Sangakkara had delayed the announcement because of Sri Lanka’s stunning 10-wicket defeat in Galle.
“He had been speaking with the selectors even before the series began,” Mathews said, adding the uncertainty had not affected the team morale.
“I think Kumar has earned the right to decide when he should go.” said Mathews. “He has served Sri Lanka well over the years and he will obviously be missed when he goes.
“But it now up to the younger players to step into the shoes of Kumar and Mahela (Jayawardene). It won’t be easy but they have a great opportunity to make a name for themselves.”
