Yousuf has broken several records at Karachi's National Stadium

Yousuf passed Viv Richards' 30-year-old record of most runs in a year and also set a new mark of nine Test hundreds.

It helped Pakistan pile the pressure on the Windies in the third Test and he said: "Viv Richards is a great player.

"Richards and Brian Lara are two of the greatest batsmen of this century and to be reckoned alongside the greats is a great satisfaction for me."

Yousuf's second-innings 124 took his record this year to 1788 runs from 19 innings at an average of 99.33.

Richards' record, which had stood since 1976, was 1710 runs.

And Lara paid tribute to his opposite number, saying: "It is excellent, to score nine hundreds in a year and near 1,800 runs in a year. Yousuf deserves all the credit.

"His run of form is tremendous, though I didn't like the last 600 he scored this season."

Yousuf has been phenomenal and you need to be at your peak and consistent to beat the record of most runs in a year Woolmer on Yousuf

Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer was also full of praise for the 32-year-old, describing the record as "an amazing feat".

"I played against Viv in that 1976 series and have coached Yousuf now," said Woolmer, who played in 19 Tests for England in the 1970s.

"Both Yousuf and Richards had different styles. Richards was aggressive, Yousuf is cool and sedate. Yousuf has been phenomenal and you need to be at your peak and consistent to beat the record of most runs in a year."

Former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar attributed Yousuf's remarkable form to his conversion to Islam in 2005.

606 DEBATE: Give your thoughts on Yousuf's prolific year

Yousuf said after his knock that "it was only with God's help that I achieved this" and Manjrekar said: "He has always been a graceful player in full flow but now he is mentally stronger and more focused out in the middle. He bats like he is in a trance."

Former Pakistan captain Hanif Mohammad added: "He is one of the best batsman produced by Pakistan and the way he is batting I see him going onto break many new records.

"I have a feeling this is just a beginning."