For Shane Warne to describe Yusuf Pathan's 37-ball ton (on day 2 of the IPL 2010 tournament) as the best innings he's ever seen means more than just another sound bite. "I've played cricket for 21 years and I have seen Sachin Tendulkar as the best batsman against whom I have played as he has murdered attacks and hit them all over the park. But today was the best innings I have ever seen."
For YKP the year has started wonderfully... the 2 tons including a superb 200 in the duleep trophy finals, then the 40 ball hundred vs maharastra in the vijay hazare trophy which helped Baroda stun Maharashtra. Again in the Deodhar Trophy final vs North Zone, Yusuf Pathan attempted to achieve the impossible on a turning track. His outrageous brand of power-hitting took the conditions totally out of the equation with his brutal 80.
His game is now on the up but more than his on form it will define the style which many of the teams in the WC 2011 will adopt. It will be the form of big hitters like Dilshan, Haddin, Warner (if he makes it to the Aussie team) that will win the cup. Over the next 10-12 months lets keep our eyes open to see new tactics emerging to improve the big hitting.
More importantly lets see how the bowlers adapt to the new game!
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