Congratulations Pakistan – T20 World Champions 2009

“Pakistan’s rise from rank outsiders to champions is an extraordinary display for a team that had to beat Netherlands by a significant margin to even stay in the event during the group stages. However, they have peaked at the right time and couldn’t have produced a more complete performance for a final. They fell five runs short two years ago at Johannesburg, but this time there was no mistake.”
      – Cricinfo /  http://www.cricinfo.com/wt202009/content/current/story/410042.html

Pakistan, rank outsiders at the beginning of the tournament. The team with a rusty handle on things and just not enough spirit and zeal. The team that was criticized from all corners (Myself included). The team that had the Champions Trophy and then the World Cup hosting rights taken away from it following troubled security issues, terrorism, attacks etc in the country. The team within the major teams with the least amount of international cricket under its buckle in the last year and a half. We were the team that won the T20 World Cup 2009. We won it on the backs of the match winning performances of Shahid Afridi, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal etc. We weren’t all great. But we persevered.  

As a nation, we needed this more then anyone else. Pakistan needed a victory. The country needed a win. As Younis Khan put it:

“This is a gift for the Pakistan Nation”

And what a gift it is. Amid turmoil and problems… the nation finally has something to celebrate. The headlines tomorrow won’t just be of Swat, of Taleban, of the economic issues and the usual serving of sadness. Tomorrow and maybe even day after… it will all be the champions that we are.

The Final was all set up. Again an all Asian final like the last edition which also had Pakistan, that time against its arch rivals India.  It was a perfect day it at Lords. Sun shining bright. A good track for competitive cricket. Passion on both sides. Players ready to go. But the match wasn’t as much of a firecracker as one would have expected it to be. There wasn’t a blitz nor a constant thundering from any bat. It was actually a bowlers final.

Sri Lanka, undefeated throughout the tournament. Dilshan, the leading run scorer with a impressive and dazzling 95 off 57 balls innings in the semi-final which destroyed the West Indies, was ready to face Pakistan and continue from where he had left off. But Pakistan had other things in mind.

Aamir bowled to the set plan. No width, no room for driving the ball, keep it short. Keep it uncomfortable. The first ball flew by Dilshan’s nose. And the rest were also short. And the dividends were paid in the very first over only. Dilshan went for a duck. What followed was dominance by Pakistan’s bowlers spearheaded by Razzaq’s experience which got us 3 early and important wickets, over the Lankan batsmen. Apart from the last 5 overs, only Sangakkara (Playing a captain’s knock) the other batsmen struggled for runs or to keep their wicket. The last 5 overs of Sri Lanka’s innings was also perhaps the only part of the match when the Lankans were on top of Pakistan, making 59 runs off them.

With 138 on the board, Sangakkara would have been happy about an innings they finished better after Pakistan’s fiery start. It was a competitive total, one very much within the bounds of the Lankan attack of defending. Especially given Pakistan’s track record for chasing. But this was a day a different Pakistani batting line up came out. One which was more sensible and one which did not lose its head rashly. Akmal and Shahzaib gave Pakistan a steady start even if it wasn’t a quick or racy one. It was one in which runs were on board and wickets were in hand. After the dismissal of Akmal & Shahzaib, Afridi and Malik put on the final runs on the board. Their partnership steered Pakistan to the victory. Well Afridi did really with good support from Malik. It was once again Boom Boom Afridi’s sensible batting ego which showed up to bat. It was another brilliant 50 knock from the charismatic all-rounder. He was calm. He hit his first boundary after nudging around for 19. And it was a sensible and calculated one as well. A six to Murali followed by a four to reduce the gap between runs required and balls left. 2 – 3 overs later when once again it seemed like the pressure was building, Boom Boom dispatched Urdana for a huge six and a four of the very next ball. I firmly believe that more than any other member of the Pakistan team, this has been Afridi’s tournament for redeeming himself (as a batsmen and an all-rounder) and further stamping his fantastic credentials as a dangerous leg-spinner. The semi-final was Afridi’s day. And so was the final. The two most important matches for Pakistan in the T20. BOOM BOOM showed up for work!                                          

“The winning moment felt almost anticlimactic – if such a thing was possible in so fevered an atmosphere. Afridi sized up a slap through midwicket but the ball merely trickled off his pads. No matter, the run was in the book and the trophy was in the bag, with an over and two balls to spare. What followed was glorious, as Afridi first checked that Udana’s lbw appeal had not been upheld, and then, with legs akimbo and a triumphant hoist of the arms, he stood in his crease and lapped up the acclaim. He knew that his team would not be far behind, and sure enough, out they hurtled from the dug-out, to acclaim the man who had steered them back from exile and right onto centre stage.”
               - Cricinfo / http://www.cricinfo.com/wt202009/content/current/story/410089.html

Some of the positives from this tournament: Younis Khan on some fine captaincy , Shahid Khan Afridi for his absolute consistency with the ball and timely heroics with the bat proving that Pakistan cricket needs him, Saeed Ajmal for magnificent off-spin bowling, Umar Gul for the non-stop toe crushing and runs cramping spells of yorkers and of course the world record 5 wicket haul against the Kiwis, Razzaq who came back from a 2 year exile and directly onto such a big stage for bringing back the balance to our team. M. Aamir and Shahzaib are good finds. They need to be groomed properly for they will be assets for the future of Pakistan Cricket.

I would like to end this blog by congratulation the Pakistan Team and the nation – our nation which is going through so much right now and how we all needed this win.

I would also like to thank the Kiwis for always bringing out the best in us during these World Cup encounters (both T20 & ODIs format) !  

The Return of the Mercurial Pakistan

We were thumped in the warm up games against India and South Africa. We crashed to a defeat against England. We started the tournament as one of the most out of sorts team. (Even with the Aussies being dumped out in the first round).

Our batting line up was threateningly out of order. Our fielding was horrible. But then, we returned. Pakistan’s T20 Campaign was reborn. All with our do or die match against New Zealand. Gul returned world record T20 bowling figures of 5 wickets for just 6 runs. Remarkable feat. Afridi took a stunner of a catch. Not only was this beyond your average Pakistan fielding expectations but it was actually along the standards of the Proteas fielding.

We marched on to the Semi Final. We were to play South Africa, the tournament favorites.  One of the only 2 unbeaten sides (Sri Lanka being the other). Even with our improved performances, everyone had written us off against South Africa. No way. Even with the proteas being the proverbial chokers of the big stage… it just didn’t seem plausible with the way they were going.

Game Time – South Africa had us at 28 – 2. Akmal had departed after a handy 23 off 15 ( or something like that ) and the young Shahzaib let the nerves of a 19 year olds first ever semi final against a team like SA get to him. Enter Boom Boom Afridi. Fairing low on the batting scale throughout the tournament with only glimpses of slight hope in the previous 2 matches, Afridi hammered a 34 ball 50 to put Pakistan in a pole position to set up a big total. But SA pulled it back. We were restricted to just 149.

Pressure on for our bowling. Kallis and Smith took it to 40 in 5.5 overs before Aamir C&B Smith. Then once again.. enter Boom Boom Afridi. 2 quick wickets of Gibbs and AB and a tight spell with figures of 4 overs 2 wickets and 16 runs. Brilliant once again with the bowl. From then on … Pakistan were more or less the more comfortable team in the match. The runs were squeezed courtesy once again of not only Afridi but also Ajmal and Gul. Things once again went according to plan. Apart from the final over and the one erratic decision of a Fawad Alam over… we were in the driving seat.

Today was not a case of South Africa choking on the big stage. It was more a case of Pakistan beating them. It was a case of the Art of cricket beating the Science of cricket.

We are in the final once again of the T20. We either face the Windies or Sri Lanka. Whoever it is…. the signs are there….. The mercurial Pakistan have returned. At least for now. On our day…we can be lions!! GO PAKISTAN! GO AFRIDI! GO GUL! This cup is ours for the taking!

Appeal

Cricket Pakistan: Disappointment Looms Ahead

Once boasting the likes of Akram, Waqar, Inzi & Anwar and other heroes of our cricketing past, Pakistan was one of the game’s most dangerously unpredictable team. It didn’t matter if we were facing Waugh’s Aussies or the impeccable Proteas, on our best day we could create fireworks and produce a firecracker of a game. We were passionate. We had bite in our batting and force in our bowling. Easily figuring in the top 3 – 4 ODI teams on a regular basis.

We had the magic of Akram’s left arm pace, the banana swing of Waqar’s ferocious right arm, the middle order reliability of our Inzi and the opening class of Anwar. Not to mention the ‘doosra’ or the ‘googly’ of Saqi. We had our evergreen and motivating Moin Khan. That was a team I would sit down for through thick and thin. They had their good days and their bad days. They had lazy days and miraculous ones. But they always had something about them which would ensure the morale and motivation of its fans. It after all had some of the players who were part of the world cup winning squad of ‘92 to begin with. 

Our current team, which lost yesterday to England lacks talent, commitment, passion,spirit,inspiration, discipline…. I could keep going on and this list would not really end. Since the start of the warm matches for this T20 World Cup, Pakistan’s performance has been under par. In fact it has been far worse than that as well. We are quite vulnerable to defeat at the hands of the Dutch. I couldn’t see the hunger in a single player last night. Not even the captain. Who let us not forget thinks this T20 Tournament is not to be taken seriously and just for ‘fun’. While he might have said that not to put down the tournament but rather to set a mind frame, unfortunately for him, that is not the way to get about it. In the last 2 years, Pakistan’s team has increasingly become more and more predictable in the way it will have a lackluster performance and approach to the match. We have not been a team filled with the spirit or desire since the last T20 world cup. Our batting is weak. Our balling lacks any threat. Our fielding….. well lets just leave our fielding. After yesterday’s disaster of a performance in all departments… the fielding was still the one to stick out as the one FAR WORST. I counted at least 10 dropped chances.  

The PCB’s administrative turbulence doesn’t help matters either. A continuation of the ad-hoc system of running things is slowly taking away from this nation a sport in which we thrived… and crazed ourselves. We have had 4 Chief Selectors since 2007. Not to mention the number of coaches that have changed. The re-association of Miandad followed by the re-disassociation and the eventual re-re-association are all examples of an unhealthy system. Cricket has officially been made a mockery of. The lack of playing time against teams of merit for a long time (The gap between the asia cup and the matches against Sri Lanka and then Australia yet another 2 months after that) certainly didn’t help our team to be a slightly better equipped. We were bound to be rusty no doubt. Also the scrapping of the ICC Champions Trophy and taking away of our World Cup Hosting rights were enough of bummer for players and fans alike. But all these reasons, while with some weight simply cannot be used as excuses for all the things that our team lacks. Playing on the World T20 stage and representing one’s country in my humble opinion should be enough to fire up your sense of spirit and engine. It should be enough to be able to give your 100%. If at the end of the day THAT is not enough for the team to win, it is something far more acceptable then a team of experienced players going out there as if they’ve just started playing the sport and are yet to develop any sort of connection with it. It is atrocious. The biggest crime in all of this was actually the lack of passion, spirit or determination. Things which can take you far beyond your skill and ability. Things which can take you far beyond the discipline as well.

I hope that we do beat the Dutch on the 9th and by enough of a margin to qualify. But honestly … if you ask me right now.. gun to my head… we do not deserve to make it anywhere near winning this competition. Not with the attitude we have shown so far. Not with the commitment we have shown so far.

Pakistan needs a complete overhaul of the PCB and the general setup in order to get back to being a potent force in the world of cricket. We need a better administrative and more stable structure to support the progress and development of a team properly put in place with sound judgment and merit. If things continue the way they have…. we will soon become the proverbial failures. 

Rush

It often happens in our lives that we rush into things completely blinded by false images of a magnificent future without even looking deeply into what we are doing. And it often turns out to be something that we definitely should have had a better look at. We make the decision because we are desperate to escape this one thing so much, that we completely overlook checking whether the next thing is something which will make us want to escape as much as well….

I think I’ve often treaded that path, not with one particular aspect of my life but … well a collective few. And as I said…. it was often without the necessary due diligence. I’ve paid the price as many times. Maybe not in obvious terms …. but I know I have. In one way or the other.

The biggest problem in all of this is that we think about our future and we paint ourselves a perfect little world. And we get absorbed so much in that idea of our future that we never really get out of it. Whether its relationships, your work / career or life in general…we just get stuck to that idea of ours… our little painting of our perfect little worlds… cozily nested up in our minds. And all the while ensuring that reality is never really given an honest chance from us. We get easily frustrated, tired, mentally exhausted… all because …well … various reasons for various things in question. As a result of which we make a decision at the first exit point that we see…. and purely just because its an exit point with Glowing lights and flashy signs… with a couple of I don’t know … tempting posters or something. What we don’t really see is where this exit is leading us. Because of we did ….if we properly looked at it …we would know .. its someplace that you’d rather not be. Not because its bad…. but because …it doesn’t suit you even more.

I am at one of these points right now as well. And I feel more frustrated, pressured…. and …overall … don’t even know how to put it.

Point of this entire stupid rant: DO NOT EVER RUSH INTO THINGS!….. like seriously. This is true experience talking. Don’t rush into relationships. Don’t rush into feelings. Don’t rush into vacation plans. Don’t rush into hasty decisions purely because well you have to make it immediately. Your gut feeling is a good thing to go by .. but not all the time.