Abu Dhabi: Pakistan’s old warhorse Younis Khan, who surpassed his idol Javed Miandad as Pakistan’s greatest Test match run-getter on Tuesday, has set his sights on the 10,000-run mark.
“Javed Miandad had always told me that you have to keep going and don’t rest on the laurels. I never thought that I will surpass him one day. I would now like to become the first Pakistan batsman to cross 10,000 runs in Tests,” said the 37-year-old Younis, who when on 19 passed Miandad’s tally of 8,832 runs in 124 matches during an illustrious career that stretched from 1976 to 1993.
“My father was an inspiration as well and he used to work so hard for whatever he achieved in life. He was with me during few years of my international career and always taught me to work hard,” said Khan, who reached the landmark in style — hoisting Moeen Ali over the midwicket boundary for a six.
Younis was in an aggressive frame of mind right from the time came out to bat post-tea after Pakistan had lost Mohammad Hafeez on 98 and seemed to be in a hurry to knock off the 19 runs he needed to get past Miandad.
“I was a bit nervous in the beginning to get those 19 runs quickly. Javed bhai’s record was like a wall in front of me and I had to cross that wall, which looked impossible. So I pushed myself a bit. For the last two weeks I have been pushing myself for this day. So the gear was in a fast forward mode,” revealed Younis, whose achievement has come in 102 Tests. He now has 8,852 runs with a Pakistan record of 30 centuries. Last season when Pakistan routed Australia 2-0 for their first series win against Australia in 20 years, Younis amassed 468 runs.
Younis was also in supreme touch during their last series against Sri Lanka in July. He hammered an unbeaten 171 in the last Test at Pallekele and it also saw Pakistan chase down a mammoth target of 377 to seal the win. Even that was also a new milestone in Test history as that ton was Younis’ fifth in the fourth innings. With that he also overtook India’s Sunil Gavaskar, Australia’s Ricky Ponting, Ramnaresh Sarwan of the West Indies and South African Graeme Smith — each of whom had scored four fourth innings centuries.
Younis also hailed the innings of centurion Shoaib Malek and was of the view that if the latter goes on to bat for another two sessions on the second day, Pakistan will be in a position of strength.
“Malek’s batting shows us what kind of player he is. He was struggling for the past four to five years. This innings show us that he is capable of scoring runs for the country and can keep going. I think if he keeps going tomorrow for two sessions, we will have a good total on board.”
