Oh, brother

Much of the hype preceding this match related to Irfan Pathan’s inability to turn out for Baroda and the resulting disappointment at ho...

Much of the hype preceding this match related to Irfan Pathan’s inability to turn out for Baroda and the resulting disappointment at home. Today, with the first 5-wicket haul of his Ranji career, Irfan’s brother ensured that the family name would still have a role to play in this crucial encounter.

Yusuf Pathan has already had some good performances this season — notably his unbeaten 81 against Tamil Nadu that set up a win for Baroda and 92 not out against Maharashtra — but today’s, against a strong UP line-up, was probably the most significant for the off-spinner. Baroda need a win to qualify for the Ranji semis and are well-placed to do so.

Baroda, at 75 for three in their second innings, have gained a lead of 137 over UP, who were all out for 124 in reply to Baroda’s first innings total of 186.

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‘‘I just maintained a strict line and length, and it worked’’, Yusuf told The Sunday Express. ‘‘I am very happy with this performance, this is my first five wicket haul.’’

He bowled a tight line and length, his six-foot-plus frame helping him get good purchase out of the wicket, and reaped rewards for sticking to the basics. His variations in flight and pace foxed the UP batsmen.

His efforts this season reveal the makings of an all-rounder, something his more famous brother is also aiming for. So does he look at playing alongside Irfan for India? ‘‘Yes’’, he replies without hesitation. ‘‘I’ve set myself a goal to play for India. And I will achieve it.’’

Any sibling rivalry between the brothers? ‘‘Not at all. In fact Irfan helps me out with the game, especially on the fitness aspect, More so after playing at the top level for a year, because he’s gained lot of experience.’’

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Is his batting a conscious effort? ‘‘I work on all the aspects of the game, batting, bowling or fielding. I am happy that I can sometimes contribute to the team’s win with the bat.”

Yusuf (20) made his debut in 2001/2 and has so far picked up 17 wickets from eight matches till date. He’s well over six feet tall, so did he consider fast bowling? ‘‘Not really. As far as I can remember I have always been a spinner.’’

The brothers grew up playing cricket together and may well join forces for the Indian team in the future. But right now Yusuf is basking in his new found success at the first class level. In his own right, in the name of the family.

RANJI TROPHY 2004-05

		At Kolkata: MP: 392 (N Ojha 96, S Abbas Ali 145, Sunil Dholpure 49 no; Paul 4/101, S Ganguly 2/54, Chatterjee 3/81). Bengal: 70/4 (R Gavaskar 38, S Ganguly 4 no; Pandey 2/31, Golwalkar 2/12). • Bengal need a draw to avoid relegation. At Bangalore: Karnataka: 194 (R Dravid 41; Harvinder Singh 2/34, JP Yadav 3/21, M Yadav 2/31, Parida 3/67). Railways: 256/4 (A Pagnis 36, JP Yadav 54, Raja Ali 100 no; Aiyappa 3/55). • Rlys need to win with a bonus point to qualify for semis. At Mumbai: Delhi: 394 (A Chopra 51, M Manhas 74, A Jadeja 93, Sarandeep Singh 30, A Nehra 41 no; Malvi 4/90, Mota 3/87, Kulkarni 2/67). Mumbai: 32/0. • A win will take Delhi to last four. In case they take lead in a drawn game — the likely scenario — they will hope Gujarat fails to register a win against Andhra. At Vizag: Gujarat: 420 (N Patel 118, K Damani 86, N Modi 72 no; Kalyankrishna 3/96, Praveen 2/72). Andhra: 146/3 (Venugopal Rao 66 no, Gnaneswara Rao 54 no; L Patel 2/35). • A win will certainly take them to the semis since Delhi don’t seem like taking the full points. At Baroda: Baroda: 186 (J Martin 68, Zaidi 4/63, Mishra 5/45). UP: 124 (M Kaif 11, S Raina 10, Zaheer Khan 3/33, YK Pathan 5/31). Baroda: 75/3 (C Williams 40 no). • They need four points to overtake Punjab and it seems things are going by the script At Hyderabad: Hyderabad: 340 (D Manohar 37, VVS Laxman 135, A Yadav 54, S Vishnuvardhan 50, Sathish 3/18, Konwar 3/42). Assam: 158 (G Sharma 44; Vishnuvardhan 3/28, Reddy 4/37) & 9/2 (Reddy 2/5). • A victory will see Hyderabad top Group B and qualify for semis in style. At Chennai: Tamil Nadu: 277 (S Sriram 46, K Vasudevadas 68, R Ramkumar 43, Siddiqui 3/45, Chavan 4/36) & 15/0. Maharashtra: 175 (DS Jadhav 74; Jesuraj 4/48, Vidyut 4/17) • With no relegation threat or hopes of entering semis there not much at stake for the teams.

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