The former Indian sailor recalls his hat trick against Pakistan in the 2006 Karachi Test. Left arm fortune tellers fired Salman Butt, Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf in the first match, but that was not enough to win the match for India. The two previous Tests in Lahore and Faisalabad both ended in a draw, and Irfan’s hat-trick sparked hopes that India would win the Test. But Pakistan bounced back emphatically and won the Test 3 and won the series 1-0.
Speaking in an interview with Sports Tak, Pathan said: “I always feel sad that we lost the Test because we started off well. Sometimes, I hope that if I am blown away from both ends, then I can get Pakistan out early. “
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The 35-year-old then goes on to talk about hat tricks and explains how he plans to fight each of the three Pakistani batsmen. “Every time I use a bowl for left-handed players, I always think that if I bowl outside the stumps it’s OK, but I won’t bowl outside the stumps. Because then the left-handed tennis player gets time to play a shot.
“So, I tried swinging the ball from my leg, but it remained straight. The second ball, I fell outside the stump, apparently. So, I realized there was a lot of help from goal. So, I get the goal in the 3rd or 4th ball, and I feel relieved. Because I always believe that it’s my job to get the first goal, “he said.
“Then came Younis Khan, and he often caused Indian team problems. He used to score a lot of scores against us. I thought, I would put the bowl in front, even if I hit it, I would try and hit the pads. If you see a delivery, I hit it under the knee. Luckily, the bowl was placed exactly where I wanted it, Simon Taufel gave it. Then came Mohammad Yousuf, “he said.
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Pathan cleans Yousuf with an inswinger, who is still considered one of his best goals. “I really feel that the goalpost is the top five sending in my career. Because the ball rotates in the air, because it picks up speed after the ball is thrown. I used a hat-trick before that match, but couldn’t complete the milestone. I was thinking at the time, if that happened, it would happen. But then I thought Mohammad Yousuf was in front of me, “he said.
“Mohammad Yousuf had spoken to my father before the tour, and said that ‘Khan sahab, I want to talk to you’. My father was very respectful, and he spoke openly to everyone, so he said, ‘Yes, tell me’. So Yousuf said, “You pray even though I go out, I don’t go out for your son.” So when I was hattrick, I had that incident come to my mind.
“I knew that I was troubling with the delivery that I did. So, I often exploit him. So I thought, Yousuf was in front of me, the ball was spinning in the air, and the pitch was helping me, so it was a good opportunity to take a hat trick. So, I tried to hit it on the bearing, I didn’t try to hit the stump. I tried to hit it on the bearing, it rotated in the air, and went inside, and hit the stump. That day, whatever I planned, I could do it, “he signed.