Mohammad Yousuf or as he was formerly known as Yousuf Youhana is one of the most prolific batters to have ever played for Pakistan. He has served Pakistan cricket with distinction and he was involved in one of the best batting duos with the legendary Younis Khan for more than a decade. He has played 90 Test Matches for Pakistan. He has made 7530 runs at a very good average of 52.30. He has hit 24 Hundreds in Test Cricket and 4 double hundreds as well. He has played 288 ODIs for Pakistan in which he has scored 9720 runs at an average of 41.72. He has hit 15 hundreds in ODI Cricket. In total he has made 17000+ international runs for Pakistan.
Let’s look at the Top 5 Best Innings of Mohammad Yousuf
1) 203 vs New Zealand (2001)
This was the first double hundred in the career of Mohammad Yousuf. This was made away from home in New Zealand. He was the star of the Pakistani batting. He batted for 429 balls in this innings. He hit 27 fours and 3 sixes meaning 126 runs in boundaries. He had a strike rate of 47 in this mammoth innings. He played a lot of dot balls as he made 126 runs in 30 balls via boundaries. This innings established him as a star.
2) 223 vs England (2005)
This double hundred against England is one of his best test innings at home. This was in 2005 at Lahore. He played 373 balls in this innings. He smashed 26 fours and 2 sixes which means 116 Runs in boundaries. He ran for 107 of his runs and his strike rate was 60 in this incredible double hundred. This was the reason that Pakistan won this match by a whopping innings and 100 runs. Mohammad Yousuf had become one of the best in the world.
3) 202 vs England (2006)
He was one of those rare Asian batters that had a double hundred at Lord’s . Mohammad Yousuf showed the cricketing elite that he was the best. In this innings he batted for 330 balls. He hit 26 fours and 1 six which means 110 runs were made in boundaries. Mohammad Yousuf was aggressive in this innings as his strike rate was 61 which is high for him. He wanted to show England that batters from Asia can dominate their fast bowlers. This match was a draw but he earned the respect of everyone.
4) 104* vs West Indies (1999)
In 1999, West Indies were one of the best teams in world cricket and a young Mohammad Yousuf absolutely decimated the bowling attack and this innings gave him a lot of confidence. Pakistan were batting first in this match. He was 104 not out where the second best score was 55. He smashed 13 fours meaning 52 runs in boundaries. He had a very good strike rate of over 91 in this innings. He smashed Courtney Walsh to all parts. As a result of his incredible hundred, Pakistan won this match by 42 runs.
5) 141* vs Zimbabwe (2002)
The highest score in the ODI career of Mohammad Yousuf is this innings that he played against Zimbabwe. Pakistan were batting first and he batted for 147 balls. He hit 13 fours and 3 sixes meaning 70 runs in boundaries. He ran for 71 of his runs. He had a strike rate of 96 in this Sublime innings. Pakistan won this match by 7 runs. Mohammad Yousuf proved that he was an equally great player in both Test and ODI Cricket.
Also Read: Best Innings of Mohammad Hafeez
