Younis Khan's 7 greatest knocks in Test Cricket

Younis Khan will go down as one of the greates to have played the game

Younis Khan – unassuming, irrepressible, irreplaceable – is one of the last standing bastions of Test cricket’s previous generation. He is from a different world, though he rarely struts his stuff. He is pushing 40, though he rarely breaks a sweat during his mammoth knocks.

He has seen so much, though he rarely lets that show on players who were toddlers when he made his debut. Younis Khan knows how to bat and he keeps doing it with much élan, weathering controversies, not of his creation, chaos not of his creation and perpetual disappointments of a fickle-minded Board not of his creation. He makes comebacks and it is virtually impossible to make this colossal of Pakistan cricket go away silently. He will not.

Now his place in the cricketing folklore is safe, his legacy etched in stone, thanks to that 175* at the Sydney Cricket Ground which made him the first player to score tons in 11 different countries. In short, he is the master of everything he has surveyed. Here, we turn the clock and look at 7 of Khan’s top Test tons, a difficult job considering he has scored 34 of them.

He even holds the record for most number of 4^th innings centuries – 5 – to add to his 7 3^rd innings centuries, a total of 12 in the second innings of a team, fourth highest in Test cricket. Mind you, his triple century didn’t make it to the list, as it came on one of the most insipid Test pitches ever and other knocks deserved a greater applause.

#1 267 v India, Bangalore, 2005

Younis Khan was in emperious mood in the Garden City

Beating India in India is never easy but Younis Khan scripted one of Pakistan’s most famous victories against their arch-rivals with a massive knock at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Khan was joined by Inzamam-ul-Haq when Pakistan were 7 for 2 and the duo added 324 for the third wicket. Pakistan eventually amassed 570, Inzamam falling on 184 and Mohammad Yousuf’s 37 being the third highest individual score. In reply, India made 449 thanks to a Virender Sehwag double century.

Younis shone again in the second innings scoring an unbeaten 84* as Pakistan declared after blasting 261 in just 50 overs, thanks to Younis’ 98 ball knock. Chasing 383 in the final innings, India crumbled to a defeat, all out for 214 in 90 overs. Khan picked up Player of the Match!