Irfan Pathan - Chappell Era (2005-2007)

Chappell Era (2005-2007)

Pathan was recalled to the ODI team for the 2005 Indian Oil Cup in Sri Lanka in August. This was Chappell's first series as a coach, in which Pathan played in all five matches and took 6 wickets at 33.83 at an economy rate of 4.41, but conceded 0/59 from nine overs as the hosts won the final. He scored 58 runs at 29.00 including an unbeaten 36 after India's batting collapsed in a loss to the hosts in a preliminary match.

He showed further signs of returning to peak form in the Videocon Triangular Series in Zimbabwe, taking 10 wickets at 16.10 at an economy rate of 5.03 and scored 60 runs at 30.00 in four matches. This included a haul of 3/34 and then a score of 50 as India collapsed to 164 all out and a 51-run loss to New Zealand. In another match, he took his ODI career best of 5/27 against Zimbabwe in Harare as the hosts fell for 65. Despite his overall good form, Pathan was punished by the New Zealanders in the final, conceding 40 runs in five wicketless overs as India lost their second successive final. He was subsequently the leading wicket-taker as India took a 2–0 clean sweep of an away Test series against Zimbabwe. In the First Test in Bulawayo, Pathan took 5/58 and 4/53 as well as scoring 52 in a man of the match performance to help India to an innings victory. He followed this with a 7/59 haul, his Test career best innings haul, and 5/67 in the final Test in Harare, his second ten-wicket match haul to set up a ten wicket victory, having also scored 32 in the first innings. He was again named man of the match, and his 21 wickets at 11.29 runs saw him named man of the series. This made him only the third bowler after Anil Kumble and Johnny Briggs to take 21 wickets in a two-match series.

Upon the team's return to India, Chappell experimented with Pathan by using him as an opening batsman in the Challenger Trophy prior to the late 2005 series against Sri Lankan cricket team. This yielded only moderate success with scores of 28 and 11 not out. Pathan took six wickets at 29.16 at an economy rate of 5.17. Pathan was subsequently used at No. 3 in the batting lineup in the First ODI against Sri Lanka in Nagpur, where he scored 83 runs from 70 balls to help India post a total of 6/350. Pathan also took 4/37 and 3/38 in the second and seventh matches at Mohali and Baroda respectively to win two man of the match awards, taking ten wickets at 25.60 at ane economy rate of 5.22 for the whole series. He added a 35 in the final match and ended the series with 118 runs at 39.33, playing akey role in India's 6–1 triumph. Pathan continued his strong ODI form with another man of the match performance of 3/23 and a knock of 37 runs against South Africa in the second ODI in Bangalore, having scored 46 in the middle-order in the first match after a top=order collapse. He ended the series with six wickets at 20.33 at an economy rate of 4.69 and 83 runs at 27.66.

After scoring two consecutive ducks in the Test series against Sri Lanka, Pathan was elevated to opening in the second innings of the Second Test in Delhi, after regular opener Virender Sehwag was down with illness. Having taken 3/34 from 22 overs in the first innings, Pathan scored 93 runs, building on a first innings lead of 60 to help set up a winning target of 436. In the following match in Ahmedabad, he scored 82 runs and combined in a century stand with V. V. S. Laxman to revive India after an early batting collapse saw five wickets fall during the first half of the opening day. He also took seven wickets at an average of 26.00 runs in the series, which India won 2–0. Pathan later admitted that he had been disappointed in failing to score a Test century. Following his strong performances in 2005, Pathan was promoted in December to an A-grade contract by the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

Pathan had another difficult start to the new year in 2006 on the Test tour to Pakistan. In the first two Test matches played on flat surfaces in Lahore and Faisalabad, he had little success against the Pakistani batsmen, taking a total of two wickets while conceding 319 runs at more than four runs an over. After not getting and opportunity in the First Test—India lost only one wicket—Pathan made use of the good batting conditions himself and scored 90 in a double century partnership with wicket-keeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni in Faisalabad. Pathan found success with the ball in the Third Test in Karachi, when on 29 January, he became the first person to claim a hat-trick in the first over of a Test match—the first five minutes of a match scheduled for 30 hours—and the first Indian to take a hat-trick in an away Test. It was also the highest in terms of total averages of the batsmen dismissed (130.18: Salman Butt 34.27, Younis Khan 46.04, Mohammad Yousuf 49.86) and came after 1783 Tests in the history of cricket. He had Butt caught by Dravid in the slips from an outswinger, before trapping Younis leg before wicket and bowling Yousuf, both with inswingers. He finished with a haul of 5/61 after the hosts staged a lower-order counter-attack but was punished in the second innings, taking 1 wicket while conceding 106 runs as Pakistan set a target which was beyond India's reach. Pathan ended the series with 134 runs at 44.66 and took eight wickets at 60.75. Despite his Test travails, Pathan continued to perform strongly in the ODI arena, scoring 65 in the top order in the first ODI against Pakistan in Peshawar before making three consecutive three wicket hauls in the following matches. This included a man of the match performance that included a haul of 3 wickets for 43 runs at Rawalpindi as he claimed nine wickets at 18.88 at an economy rate of 4.49 for the series. Having taken an unassailable 3–1 lead, India rested Pathan for the final match.

Pathan had a quiet series against England following his return to India, taking 8 wickets at an average of 39.37 runs and scoring 121 runs at an average of 24.20 runs in three Tests. Pathan scored 52 in the first innings of the Second Test in Mohali, helping India to a first-innings lead and eventually a nine-wicket win. In the Third Test, Pathan managed only 1/84 in total and scored 26 and 6 as they collapsed on the final day and ceded their series lead. Again his ODI form was unaffected, taking eleven wickets at 15.63 in five matches, and scoring 123 runs at 41.00 with the bat as India easily claimed the series 5–1. Pathan scored 28 and then took 3/21 in a low-scoring 29-win in the first match, before scoring 36 and taking 4/51 in the third match in Goa. India then took an unassailable 4–0 lead by winning the fourth match, in which Pathan took 1/27 before scoring 46 in the run-chase.