In the previous season, Yusuf Pathan was dropped from the Baroda team due to poor form and the all-rounder was under pressure to perform to retain his place in the side. The all-rounder was included in the Irfan Pathan led-side for the Ranji Trophy and the way he opened the season; it will surely give him a lot of confidence going into the game ahead.
Yusuf achieved a unique feat and scored a century in both the innings of the Ranji game against Madhya Pradesh. It was the second time he achieved this record as earlier, he had achieved the same feat in the Duleep Trophy 2010, and it was a moment for him which he had lived earlier.
Despite his twin century, Baroda couldn’t save the match, and Madhya Pradesh chased down a small total in the fourth and the final innings of the game. The star of the match was though Yusuf, and after the game, he said that Baroda could have saved the game,
“A draw had been good. Now as I look back, it feels we could have even saved the match. The way we fought back was quite good. It will be a learning curve for all. The good thing is that it has happened early in the season. This will help the boys learn from the mistakes and wake up. Such losses in the middle of the tournament would have added to our woes,” he told Sportstar.
One of the main reasons for Baroda’s loss was the inexperienced bowling line-up. Irfan Pathan, a veteran of 29 Test and 120 ODIs, was the most experienced bowler in the team and Yusuf said that the young bowlers could learn from him,
“We have young bowlers, and they don’t have much experience. They can learn from Irfan. We have to back each other. The experienced players need to play their role well, and that will benefit the team,” he added.
It was a learning experience for young Baroda side where they suffered a loss against a much stronger side than them. There were a lot of lessons for Baroda which they would like to carry the next time when they step on the field later this week when they face Andhra Pradesh –a team that missed an opportunity in their first contest against a star-studded Tamil Nadu side.