KARACHI: Seldom do youngsters from academic background shine on the cricket field as Test opener Shan Masood did recently in the series-winning Test against Sri Lanka — Pakistan’s first series triumph in the island after nine years — which came a result of a historic fourth-innings chase.

Coming from an influential family with his father, Mansoor Masood Khan, being a renowned banker, Shan silenced the critics who questioned his selection emphatically by playing a key role in Pakistan’s sensational seven-wicket win in Pallekele just over a week ago.

The 25-year-old left-hander, born in Kuwait, rated his solid knock of 125 as the highlight of his brief five-match Test career.

“Your first century is always your most memorable and hence I would put it right up there if I’m rating the highlights of my career thus far. It means a lot to me as it was a collection of dreams coming true,” the soft-spoken Shan told Dawn on Thursday.

“My first century, and that too in the fourth innings, contributed towards us winning the Test and the series. Chasing a record total and batting with my mentor Younis Khan and sharing such a moment with him was indeed memorable.”

Narrating the hiccups in the early stages of his innings during Pakistan’s record fourth-innings partnership of 242, Shan admitted he was nervous but never let the situation get the better of him.

“It is natural for any batsman, especially an opener, to be a bit jittery at the start especially if you consider the fact that it was the fourth innings and we had fielded for nearly hundred overs. Both mental and physical fatigue takes place as you move into the fourth and fifth day of a Test. So the key was surviving that period and then cashing in,” he revealed.

Shan considered a great privilege batting with the legendary Younis. “I would just say a dream come true to put it in as simple words as possible.

“Younis kept it very simple and made it extremely easy for me. He told me to keep giving it my 100% and a apart from that shared a few light moments such as my picture flashed up on the electronic scoreboard.

“The fact that I was playing my fifth Test didn’t matter. What really mattered was that I was very lucky to play with my childhood hero. It will always be one of the highlights of my life and I’ll cherish this moment for the rest of my life.”

A player with a safety-first approach, Shan said the stroke he played to reach the century was something he had planned.

“You can call it pre-planned but you can also call it calculated as the field was up and the bowler [Tharindu Kaushal] and the rest of the opposition didn’t expect me to take such a risk in my 90s.”

The young opener said when Pakistan were about 40-odd runs away he did believe that victory was within grasp. “It was when Younis and the skipper [Misbah-ul-Haq] were at the crease that I was sure that we would get there without further damage.”

Shan further said that many would feel now that he would be under pressure to perform because of the expectations in the aftermath of scoring a maiden century.

“Look, I said the same thing when I made my debut that one game doesn’t make or break you. But having said that I think I am off to a decent start already in my Test career (303 runs at 30.30) and hopefully this will be a stepping stone for many more great feats,” he hoped. “My goals are simple: to perform consistently and the rest will take care of itself.”

Without holding himself back, Shan said Younis had been a great influence in his career despite a tentative start.

“I remember an incident, Habib Bank were playing the Quaid Trophy final in 2010 against Karachi and that was the first time Younis and I had shared dressing room. He didn’t pick me for that fixture because he thought I was too inexperienced for such a game.

So we did not get off to the best of starts but then when I played the Pentangular and one-day tournaments under him the same year, things turned around and he took huge steps in helping me develop my game.”

The articulate cricketer said he’s not the type to think far too ahead but aims to enjoy representing his country.

“My mindset does not allow me to think too far into the future. But whatever I’ll do I will do the thing that I want to do and something I can enjoy just like I enjoy playing cricket and enjoy playing for Pakistan.

“As a person I have a diverse range of interests. I have focused on staying fit and healthy over the past three years or so. That has helped me a lot with my cricket and hopefully it will continue to do so. I like to work on my game individually and I spend time doing that when I head to the UK annually for 2-3 months,” Shan concluded.

Published in Dawn, July 17th, 2015

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