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Pakistan knock India out of ICC Champions Trophy
Youhana's 81 helped Pakistan reach semis, reports Kadambari Murali.Full Scorecard || Winning moments
Yousuf Youhana has often been accused of being unable to finish the job for Pakistan despite being a player of undoubted class. He has variously been called selfish, highly individualistic and someone who feasts off mediocre bowling. Youhana, a quiet man intensely conscious of his very impecunious background, has more often than not refused to react to such accusations, letting his bat do the talking.
On Super Sunday at the Edgbaston, he probably silenced his critics for a long, long time with a magnificent batting performance under difficult conditions. Even as the sun, which had been quietly benevolent throughout the day bid goodbye, the skies darkened and the nip in the air became a chilly breeze that numbed your hands. Youhana, cramping and in obvious pain, calmly took Pakistan past India into the Champions Trophy semi-final.
Pakistan had many heroes on a day they will long remember. There was Youhana and his unbeaten 81. There was the underrated Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, he of the receding hairline and quiet speech --- quite unlike the image of the fiery Pakistani paceman. He bowled beautifully in the morning. There was Shoaib Akhtar, who did not look very happy at being brought on after the fielding restrictions were relaxed and made a point with some incisive bowling.
