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Pakistan vs Australia 2014: Younis Khan’s ton takes Pakistan to 219/4 on Day 1

Younis Khan scored his first Test ton against Australia.

Younis Khan scored 106 runs. He became the first Pakistan batsman to score a century against all Test playing nations © Getty IMages
Younis Khan scored 106 runs. He became the first Pakistan batsman to score a century against all Test playing nations © Getty IMages

By Nishad Pai Vaidya

Oct 22, 2014

Younis Khan broke the jinx against Australia as he smashed a ton on Day One of the first Test at Dubai. This was Younis’ first Test ton against the Aussies and this innings helped Pakistan stabilize after they were troubled early in the day. Though he was dismissed late in the day, Pakistan finished on a spot of relative safety at 219 for four.

Pakistan won the toss and chose to bat. Australia handed Test debuts to Stephen O’Keefe and Mitchell Marsh. Pakistan had handed debuts to Imran Khan and Yasir Shah.

The day began on a disastrous note for Pakistan as Mohammad Hafeez was trapped plumb in front by Mitchell Johnson in the first over. Hafeez surprised everyone by going for the review as the ball had hit him on the full. Wishful thinking!

And, it only got worse as Ahmed Shehzad was bowled by Peter Siddle as he walked too far across and was castled around the leg. At seven for two, things looked bleak. However, that was when Azhar Ali and Younis got together. In tandem, they added 108. It was a sedate partnership as they took almost 50 overs to put those runs.

Both batsmen had reached their fifties, when Azhar spooned one to cover for a hard-fought 53. Misbah-ul-Haq entered and constructed another good stand with Younis. As the new ball approached, Younis became more proactive and got to his ton by dancing down the track and smashing one over mid-on for a six. However, Johnson dismissed him soon after with an incoming delivery that struck his back-leg.

Australia’s spinners Nathan Lyon and O’Keefe did not trouble the batsmen a lot and it was mainly Johnson who did the damage. Pakistan would be happy with the day, but one would say it was even stevens.

Brief scores:

Pakistan 219 for 4 (Azhar Ali 53, Younis Khan 106; Mitchell Johsnon 3 for 22) vs Australia.

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