Yusuf Pathan and the mansion of the Gods

Growing up, the phrase ‘Mansion of the Gods’ only referred to two things. One was obviously the house of billionaire Hugh Hefner, and the other referred to the Asterix Comics. The storyline of the comics traces the life of a Gaulish warrior Asterix. Apart from the obvious comedy illustration in these books by Albert Uderzo and Rene Goscinny, the outline as far as I was concerned was that the brave Gauls were holding out against the Roman Empire under Julius Cesar who had all of the Europe occupied except the Gaulish Village by the sea.

Any sane cricket fan would ask me what this has to do with cricket. And he would have a damn good reason for that as well. The story of Asterix and his bunch of merry Gauls and the so-called ‘magic potion, in some way or the other, applies rather directly to Yusuf Pathan. While all of the KKR were on the brink of defeat at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium against an RCB side with their backs against the wall, Pathan’s knock was a special one.

There is a massive difference between a cameo and an innings. For a few years, most of the innings played by the older of the Pathan brothers was nothing more than a cameo. 12, 36, 19 and 10. What do these numbers signify? These were the cameos played by the 33-year old against the different IPL franchises. Against the Royal Challengers, however, Pathan slammed an unbeaten 60. Although he is viewed by one and all as a pinch-hitter of sorts, his inning on the night was something else. It was special.

In his somewhat of an illustrious career, Yusuf Pathan has had a love affair with the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. While he smashes cameos and finishing innings most of the times, he manages to play a special inning almost each time he plays in Bangalore. And being a Bangalorean from the city (Born and bread), I can attest to that.

He made his mark on the Bengaluru crowd all those years back in 2010. Although the Kiwis were not the same force they are today in the Christmas period of 2010, they had some dangerous players. Riding on the knocks of Brendon McCullum, James Franklin and others, the score, just across the member’s pavilion read 315/7 off 50 overs. This was no Mickey Mouse total and as far as the Indians were concerned, they had their work cut out.

I can distinctly remember, watching the game as a 17-year old lad. I can also remember a plethora of people from the G and the J stands to make their way out of the stadium when Rohit Sharma fell for 44. Enter Yusuf Pathan. In the outset, his dislike for playing the short pitched delivery was clear for all the folks present in the New Zealand dressing sheds. While he clobbered the ‘varsity’ Kiwi attack, one thing was clear to all those who watched the Pathan knock.

The newspapers the following day read: “They said he couldn’t perform in international cricket. They said he was good only for IPL and domestic cricket. He proved them wrong tonight. Yusuf Pathan engineered an improbable win for India with a violent hundred, his first in ODIs, and perhaps sealed a World Cup berth for himself.”

With a homecoming at the RCB home ground, the signals of a whirlwind from the bat of Yusuf Pathan were soaring to unbelievable levels. The situation for the Knight Riders was also ironically and agonizingly similar to the India v New Zealand game as well. It was 4-69 when he came out to bat. The RCB flags were flying high with the Royal Challengers tipped to break their losing streak.

Varun Aaron ran into bowl. His raw pace and ability to clock 150 Kmph is something no batsman wants to face. Yusuf Pathan watched Aaron charge in knowing what to expect. While Aaron had the terrifying pace as his one and only ally, the 33-year old Pathan and all his experience had something else in the store. He had the ‘Eye of the tiger’. One swing of the bat and Pathan had deposited Aaron into the stands. Unforgiving and merciless against the bowlers, the very words Yusuf perhaps lives by. Although his partner-in-crime Andre Russell was clobbering the ball to all parts of the stadium, the 33-year olds’ moment was magic was to arrive soon.

Unfortunately for Varun Aaron and the Royal Challengers, Yusuf Pathan was in the mood. In the mood to scratch his irresistible itch. His itch of smashing each and every ball out of the park. The pacey Aaron found the block hole the next over. However, a flash of genius saw the ball race away to the square-leg fence. The expression on Virat Kohli’s face told the story.

Although their team was on the receiving end of a hammering, the Bangalore cricketing faithful were witnessing the rebirth of one of the cricket’s forgotten men. Pathan was a prominent part of the Indian side that clinched the World Cup in 2011 apart from the 2007 World T20 medal that he won at the expense of Pakistan at Johannesburg.

The batting style of Yusuf Pathan allows people to view the art of old school batting. There is generally not much footwork as the 33-year old relies on his power and stroke-making to do most of the talking for him as far as he is concerned. With his prowess to perform at this level, Pathan is seemingly a sparkling cocktail of that sort of a player. 60 off 29 deliveries against the Challengers is evidence to that statement. In addition, to remain unbeaten as he did on the night was something truly special.

In conclusion, an article that flashed past the famed Cricket Monthly magazine read: “In Baroda cricket the Pathans are the two pole stars in a proud and storied firmament. Their celebrity extends well beyond the field”

What did Yusuf say after his knock? – Interview Yusuf Pathan: I backed my ability and knew we could win it if I stayed there till the end