I am writing this on a Sunday night. And on nights such as these, I wonder: what if I were completely indifferent to cricket?
There are folks who took a quiet aimless stroll in the park earlier in the afternoon, a few shanked their approach shots missing the green and so many who sipped tea all day reading just about everything – except cricket.
And then there are a few cursed or spellbound. We have our days, like yours truly, who waited for the big Pakistan vs. India opener and planned their entire weekend around it. The match delivered on all its hype. It was a classic!
It’s not easy being a Pakistan cricket fan. Nasser Hussain’s little piece on air a few years back, to an extent, captures it. At no point in time – thanks in large part to team Pakistan – could a winner be predicted in this game. At one point, the win predictor had Pakistan winning at 84%. But that’s Pakistan for you. They make the impossible-possible.
Pakistan looked cagey to begin with. But they were up against it, batting first with exaggerated swing in the overcast conditions and bowl seaming sharply with bounce. Arshdeep Singh was unplayable at times. Rizwan hasn’t been playing as fluently as he did the year past – but looks the enforcer only when he is trying to be positive. And that intent isn’t there consistently. It was a struggle for him again – and painful to watch for us as he played and missed, played and missed. Perhaps it’s his white lipstick!
Babar, on the other hand, wasted no time and returned to the dugout even before some of us settled in. I was still fidgeting with my remote and adjusting the volume before I realised he was gone. The TV was on mute since his first ball – and so was Pakistan batting in the powerplay. If it wasn’t for my daughters in the room – my neighbors who don’t watch cricket, would have known about the magnitude of the catastrophe that befell us.
The innings turned around when Iftikhar took the charge. He looked ready for the big game from the word ‘go’ – unlike his partner, Shan, who struggled to find the middle initially. Iftikhar’s four sixes in six balls, right after the drinks break following the 10th over, set the stage for Pakistan to outbat India in the contest. And then wickets started to fall like dominos. Despite wickets falling in almost every other over; each incoming striker showed positive intent with a good hand especially by Nawaz, Afridi and Haris. Shan’s knock for fifty steered Pakistan to a winnable total.
The shot selection of both Shadab and Haider was questionable – giving Pandya cheap wickets but the real shocker was Asif Ali. He has a problem with short pitch delivery – and it is etched in stone now. Nobody is tossing them up for him to freely swing anymore – all except him are aware of this. But to close your eyes to a good length delivery from Arshdeep is a stuff of legend. Granted it was a quick bouncy track but it’s Arshdeep – no offense but he isn’t lightning quick. If Asif intends to keep ducking with bat hanging in the air to good length, he may want to reconsider his plans for this world cup. Regardless, with 160 to chase – the game was on.
Pakistani pacers looked good. Naseem once again got the better of Rahul and that was followed by two brilliant dismissals, by none other than the best bowler in the world at the moment, Haris. Excellent shape on that outswing to Rohit and bowl to Sky was probably the best bowl of the game. With Rohit and Sky gone – it was Pakistan’s game to lose. And Pakistan did lose. After 10 overs, India was limping at 45-4. Again, nobody loses from there! But then King Kohli produced a blinder. They are right to call it his best knock – Pakistan has been at the receiving end of way too many of such records. And this one, too, will not wear off anytime soon.
Even in the last three overs, India were way behind and did not look like winning. Afridi came – and reminiscent of last year’s semi final – conceded a few too many. But what really turned the tide was two unbelievable blows of Haris by King Kohli. That six straight over the bowler’s head was unreal. Who does that? Take a bow, king! But one does wonder – why bowl slower ones when you were doing just fine with pace up?
It was not a no-ball. Byes of the stumps were hard to stomach. A wide bowled by Nawaz when 2 runs were left was even harder to swallow! It was a tough night for Nawaz who was given a strange brief to follow in his last over. Despite that six by King Kohli, had the no ball call not gone India’s way, we still could have won it. Could have, would have, should have: this is cricket at its best for you. Those fine margins could go either way and they make all the difference.
What a great game and a cracking start to this tournament. Perth is next and we march on. If there is one Pakistan team that has a real chance of winning a cup, it is this team. And for the first time in the last decade or so, this Babar-led team has put Pakistan cricket back on the global map.
And it’s a wonderful time to be a fan of Pakistan cricket. Just not for the faint-hearted!
There are folks who took a quiet aimless stroll in the park earlier in the afternoon, a few shanked their approach shots missing the green and so many who sipped tea all day reading just about everything – except cricket.
And then there are a few cursed or spellbound. We have our days, like yours truly, who waited for the big Pakistan vs. India opener and planned their entire weekend around it. The match delivered on all its hype. It was a classic!
It’s not easy being a Pakistan cricket fan. Nasser Hussain’s little piece on air a few years back, to an extent, captures it. At no point in time – thanks in large part to team Pakistan – could a winner be predicted in this game. At one point, the win predictor had Pakistan winning at 84%. But that’s Pakistan for you. They make the impossible-possible.
Pakistan looked cagey to begin with. But they were up against it, batting first with exaggerated swing in the overcast conditions and bowl seaming sharply with bounce. Arshdeep Singh was unplayable at times. Rizwan hasn’t been playing as fluently as he did the year past – but looks the enforcer only when he is trying to be positive. And that intent isn’t there consistently. It was a struggle for him again – and painful to watch for us as he played and missed, played and missed. Perhaps it’s his white lipstick!
Babar, on the other hand, wasted no time and returned to the dugout even before some of us settled in. I was still fidgeting with my remote and adjusting the volume before I realised he was gone. The TV was on mute since his first ball – and so was Pakistan batting in the powerplay. If it wasn’t for my daughters in the room – my neighbors who don’t watch cricket, would have known about the magnitude of the catastrophe that befell us.
The innings turned around when Iftikhar took the charge. He looked ready for the big game from the word ‘go’ – unlike his partner, Shan, who struggled to find the middle initially. Iftikhar’s four sixes in six balls, right after the drinks break following the 10th over, set the stage for Pakistan to outbat India in the contest. And then wickets started to fall like dominos. Despite wickets falling in almost every other over; each incoming striker showed positive intent with a good hand especially by Nawaz, Afridi and Haris. Shan’s knock for fifty steered Pakistan to a winnable total.
The shot selection of both Shadab and Haider was questionable – giving Pandya cheap wickets but the real shocker was Asif Ali. He has a problem with short pitch delivery – and it is etched in stone now. Nobody is tossing them up for him to freely swing anymore – all except him are aware of this. But to close your eyes to a good length delivery from Arshdeep is a stuff of legend. Granted it was a quick bouncy track but it’s Arshdeep – no offense but he isn’t lightning quick. If Asif intends to keep ducking with bat hanging in the air to good length, he may want to reconsider his plans for this world cup. Regardless, with 160 to chase – the game was on.
Pakistani pacers looked good. Naseem once again got the better of Rahul and that was followed by two brilliant dismissals, by none other than the best bowler in the world at the moment, Haris. Excellent shape on that outswing to Rohit and bowl to Sky was probably the best bowl of the game. With Rohit and Sky gone – it was Pakistan’s game to lose. And Pakistan did lose. After 10 overs, India was limping at 45-4. Again, nobody loses from there! But then King Kohli produced a blinder. They are right to call it his best knock – Pakistan has been at the receiving end of way too many of such records. And this one, too, will not wear off anytime soon.
Even in the last three overs, India were way behind and did not look like winning. Afridi came – and reminiscent of last year’s semi final – conceded a few too many. But what really turned the tide was two unbelievable blows of Haris by King Kohli. That six straight over the bowler’s head was unreal. Who does that? Take a bow, king! But one does wonder – why bowl slower ones when you were doing just fine with pace up?
It was not a no-ball. Byes of the stumps were hard to stomach. A wide bowled by Nawaz when 2 runs were left was even harder to swallow! It was a tough night for Nawaz who was given a strange brief to follow in his last over. Despite that six by King Kohli, had the no ball call not gone India’s way, we still could have won it. Could have, would have, should have: this is cricket at its best for you. Those fine margins could go either way and they make all the difference.
What a great game and a cracking start to this tournament. Perth is next and we march on. If there is one Pakistan team that has a real chance of winning a cup, it is this team. And for the first time in the last decade or so, this Babar-led team has put Pakistan cricket back on the global map.
And it’s a wonderful time to be a fan of Pakistan cricket. Just not for the faint-hearted!