SINCE making his Test debut with century against Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi in the year 2000, Younis Khan has remained a pillar of Pakistan’s rather unpredictable batting. To whet his appetite the right-handed veteran scored yet another century on Wednesday, his 23rd in all to not only come at par with Javed Miandad’s number of hundreds but also in the process making his sixth against Sri Lanka.

And those impressive knocks include a majestic triple century (313) Younis crafted in Karachi’s series opening Test in 2009 after which the Sri Lankans had to abandon the tour during the second Test in Lahore when their bus was attacked by armed terrorists.

Situation on the second day of the first Test here demanded extra care from Younis who walked in with Pakistan looking a bit shaky on 59-2 before sliding further to 83-3 on a wicket with a bit of bounce and every now and then.

Pakistan, who faced a massive Sri Lankan total of 644-7 declared at the National Stadium, had lost a couple of early wickets before Younis made that epic 313 – one of the most memorable innings of his life – to get himself registered in the illustrious list of triple century scorers.

On Wednesday, in the 218-run fourth-wicket partnership with captain Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis playing his 87th Test was no less impressive. Once in his groove after Mohammad Hafeez and Ahmed Shehzad were dismissed, Younis displayed the same old grit and tenacity to apply himself to the task of rebuilding the innings which at 83-3 looked tottering.

The 36-year-old displayed requisite caution and at times calculated aggression as he drove and cut sumptuously while rotating the strike with Misbah, the another centurion of the day, to guide Pakistan to a safe-looking 251-3 by the end of the second session.

When chips are down it is performance like this that lifts the team and there is no doubt in the fact that Younis’s business like stay at the crease not only repaired the early damage but also steered Pakistan to a position giving them a healthy first-innings lead.

When on song, Younis is a delight which sums up his experience, maturity and skill as a seasoned Test batsman who with passing years still has that passion to take up the fight and then come out of it bathed in glory.

His concentration, resilience and a wide variety of shots make him a difficult customer – no wonder hard to dislodge – who boasts an uncanny capacity of playing long innings.

Both Younis and Misbah have done their job with precision and only if the rest contribute today then for Sri Lanka it could be tough to save the game from here.