December 06, 2007	Thursday	Ziqa'ad 25, 1428

KOLKATA, Dec 5: After their match-saving partnership in the second Test, Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf say India’s decision to bat on the final day worked in Pakistan’s favour to salvage a creditable draw at the Eden Gardens here on Tuesday.

Until Younis (107) and Yousuf (44) came together to rescue their side with an unbroken stand of 136 runs, the visitors were in danger of defeat when they slumped to 78 for four in mid-afternoon.

However, the two stalwarts wrote in their columns on Wednesday that India wasted an hour in the morning before asking Pakistan to bat for a minimum of 81 overs.

“That first hour in the morning that India batted gave us the breathing space. Now if I had been in India’s situation, I would have put Pakistan straightaway this morning,” Younis said in The Hindustan Times.

“With the comfort of being 1-0 up in the series behind me, and given that getting runs on this wicket wasn’t easy at all, using the whole 90 overs to go for a win would have made perfect sense,” Younis, who was filling in as captain for the injured Shoaib Malik, went on.

Yousuf, while endorsing the views of his team-mate, remarked in The Times of India: “I thought India declared a little too late. They asked us to score 345, but the fact is a lead of 300-320 was more than sufficient on that wicket. There was no way we would go for the chase on that surface. As it turned out, they were able to take only four wickets.”

Younis, the Pakistan vice-captain, whose century on Tuesday was his 15th in 57 Tests and fifth against India, said the home team would more overs to bowl at Pakistan.

“And 90 overs would have meant they would have got in a few more with the new ball. All this counts and finally, they didn’t have enough overs to get us out.

“But now [Anil] Kumble has given us a window of opportunity, because we will go on to win the final Test [in Bangalore]. We have managed a draw out of a really bad situation and that has boosted our confidence. Our fitness woes are behind us, except for Shoaib Malik, who will know on Thursday,” he added.

Younis explained the reason for skipping the post-match media conference: “I opted not to attend the press briefing because I firmly believe that your game should speak for itself!”

Yousuf said a back problem was behind his batting from his normal No 4 slot.

“Many people were surprised to see me batting at No 6 in the second innings. It was a team decision and a conscious one at that since I was struggling with a stiff back. The coach reckoned that it was better to give me extra time to rest my back because the hectic playing schedule didn’t give me train at the start of the season.”Yousuf heaped praise on Younis for his fighting knock on Tuesday.

“It was wonderful to see him bat like that. He played his normal game and we knew, as did the Indians too, that as long as he was in there, we had had a great chance of saving the game. Younis deserved the hundred,” Yousuf added.