Maybe, but what we know for sure is that he skipped breakfast
Maybe, but what we know for sure is that he skipped breakfastWith just 10 minutes to go for their Indian Premier League match against Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals manager Anil Patel was seen rushing to the main gate to fetch something. On enquiring, SUNDAY MiD DAY learnt that he had to cater to the last-minute request for a few more bottles of a high-calorie energy drink.
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Yusuf Pathan acknowledges the cheers of the CCI crowd.
PIC/SURESH KK |
It is anybody's guess as to who had the drink, but no one showed more energy in his strokes on Saturday than Yusuf Pathan.
Overflowing with boundless energy and breathtaking timing, Pathan smashed the daylights out of the Mumbai Indians bowlers in his power-packed 37-ball 100. However, Royals lost by four runs while chasing a total of 212 in 20 overs. When asked what he had for breakfast, Yusuf grinned: "Honestly, I missed my breakfast today." Maybe that's a pointer to the energy drink requisition.
Yusuf almost single-handedly took the game away from Mumbai when he started his brutal attack with Rajasthan needing 143 off 57 balls.
Being 69 for four at the end of 10 overs, Pathan turned on the heat in the 11th over, and in some style. In the 11th over off Ali Murtaza, he took 19 runs; in the 12th over off R Sathish he took 26 runs (3 fours, 2 sixes); in the 13th over off Ryan McLaren he smashed 17 runs (3 fours). At the end of 13 overs, his fifth-wicket partnership with Paras Dogra had amassed 65 runs in four overs at a run rate of 16.25. Dogra's contribution being six runs and Pathan's 56. Some tale that!
Mumbai Indians' captain Sachin Tendulkar admitted he had to alter his gameplan with Pathan going berserk. "I had planned to keep Lasith Malinga and Zaheer Khan to bowl the last four overs but, with Yusuf batting so well, I had to change that and bring them on early. Malinga and Zaheer restored some order with tight 14th (7 runs) and 15th (5 runs) overs respectively, but mainly by managing to keep Pathan off the strike.
From a hopeless situation, Pathan had turned the game on its head and the advantage was now with the Royals. It was only a freak run-out dismissal of Pathan that brought Mumbai back into the game.
His skipper Shane Warne described it as the best innings he had ever seen. "In my 21 years of first-class cricket, I have seen a lot of batsmen. I have seen Tendulkar smash us all over the park -- pace, spin. I have seen Brian Lara at his best, but today is the best innings I have ever seen," said Warne. When the Baroda batsman departed Rajasthan were left with 40 to get off 17 deliveries. With the dangerman gone, Zaheer and Malinga bowled the last two overs astutely to clinch the game.
