Umar Gul's second spell made all the difference: Younis

Mohali, Nov 9 (UNI) Pakistan vice-captain and man-of-the-match Younis Khan, while dedicating his century to late coach Bob Woolmer, lavished praise on fast bowler Umar Gul, saying ''he (Gul) turned the match in our favour.'' India were on way to a big score with Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir going great guns but at that stage Gul came for his second spell and dismissed both the batsmen and changed the course of the game.

''It would have been difficult if India had scored 350 or more ... Chasing that score is not easy, so full credit to Gul who put break to the Indian run spree and then we batted well to draw parity in the series,'' Younis said.

''We knew we could make it only if we had two or three good partnerships and one century from any of the top order batsmen.

We we have finishers in Shahid Afridi and Sohail Tanvir,'' he told reporters after the win.

Younis said he was dedicating his century to late coach Bob Woolmer ''who was very close to me and I owe a lot to him.'' He praised Dhoni for taking a bold decision to bat first.

''This was a very a bold move, and India had the batting strength to make it over 350 but then Umar Gul came in and match turned around.

''It was a good track, over 600 runs were scored and there was something for the bowlers also,'' Younis added.

He said Tendulkar was just unlucky to have missed his century.

''The ball could have gone anywhere but (Kamran) Akmal took a great catch.

''And it was not a question of nervous nineties, Sachin is too great a player to get nervous. It was just his bad luck.'' Younis said ''now the series is wide open and we hope that the next three one-dayers will also produce thrilling cricket''.

He also had a word of praise for Shoaib Akhtar, saying ''he (Akhtar) bowled very well in his second spell'' and added ''the win is a great morale booster for us and for our countrymen who will be thrilled and enjoying this.'' UNI HSB PDS HS1523