Statistics can be unsure and treacherously deceive the public, as in the case of the richly embellished figures presented by the Ministry of Finance on the country’s GDP growth and allied economic matters. But the scorecard of the Champions Trophy cricket semi-final between Pakistan and England at Cardiff on Wednesday (and indeed of the second semi-final between India and satellite Bangladesh the following day at the Kia Oval) without a doubt accurately depicts the true picture of what transpired in the encounter, a vise-like grip by the greenshirts on the hapless hosts from the very outset, and never letting go till the very last moment of victory: England 211 all out in 49.5 overs, with no batsman scoring a fifty, Pakistan 215/2 with nearly thirteen overs to spare, and both openers getting half-centuries.
It was indeed a complete reversal of the traditional British bulldog tenacity, with the English at the receiving end and no more of that ‘Rule, Britannia’ stuff! With a new captain, new men, new tactics and a positive new mindset, Pakistan saw the game through with an almost effortless ease, sailing into their first Champions Trophy final in eight tournaments. The second semi-final was a foretold and drab affair, with the outcome apparent midway through the first innings as the Bangladeshi middle order stumbled and folded well short of seemingly possible 300-plus.
The superior ranked team, indeed played outstandingly on that day: Bangladesh 264/7 and India 265/1 in only 40.1 overs, the nine wicket win proving India’s overwhelming supremacy. Warning signs for the greenshirts were the in-form Rohit Sharma (123 not out) and arch-nemesis of all bowlers, Virat Kohli (96 not out).
At Cardiff, as the inevitable victory neared, and the yelling, chants and dancing of the passionate Pakistani desi supporters became more strident and gleeful, the wreath of a smile also spread across the face of an entire peoples worn out by cares and woes, warming their hearts. It was so rare thing of late, this decisive triumph, and the wary fans, aware of the team’s flip-flops, kept their victory whoops in check till the winning shot.
It was an amazing success, an incredible result no one would have dared to forecast before the start of the match. Some cynical wit maintained that it was actually the aid and abetment of the fabled ‘angels in green’ of the 1965 war fame, and not strictly the greenshirts ’efforts alone, that had achieved the astonishing outcome!
The major credit must of course go to captain, Sarfaraz Ahmed, who overcame the trauma of the massive first match defeat to India, almost single handedly extricated his team from certain defeat against Sri Lanka, and marshalled his bowlers and wards like a savvy leader into a close knit unit, even inspiring the normally lax and laidback fielding to previously unimaginable feats of catching and cutting off boundaries. He led from the front when things were at their worst and hardest.
Now, with ‘victory having a hundred fathers’, many architects of the famous win will crawl out of the woodwork. But it must be clearly stated that it was not due even one iota to the SS (not the dreaded Nazi Schutzstaffel, the Gestapo, but the imposed S-S duo at the Pakistan Cricket Board), but in spite of them, only made possible by individual talent, in some cases recognized at a late age because of absence of an effective domestic cricket infrastructure.
Those in the government who sent celebratory messages also do not count, since their ‘love’ of sports is such that they cannot spare funds even for the national hockey team’s participation in prestigious tournaments abroad. But they do dearly like to bask in others’ glow when an improbable win is pulled off.
The real credit goes to the unsung heroes such as bowling coach Azhar Mahmood, who was so callously and prematurely kicked out of the Pakistan squad, perhaps because of his humble origins, and the other trainers and specialists, like Grant Flower, the unheralded batting coach.
The one thing to fight off till the final is that scourge of a resounding victory, complacency, which like luxury, should be ‘curs’t by Heaven’s decree’.
Even while batting in the Cardiff semi-final, both Pakistani openers got out to avoidable mishits, which shows that lack of focus and concentration lurk just below the surface. A ten-wicket win would have rubbed it in further for the powerful English side. It has rightly been remarked that ‘one victory exalts, another corrupts, one defeat kills, another brings life’.
The hunger to win and the ‘sense of struggle’ must be consciously inculcated and maintained in the squad. If Pakistan can only get the ‘victory boosts morale, morale brings victory’ cycle in motion, and regains the consistency it sorely lacks, it can again become a formidable force in the cricketing world.
But, regarding the final, though it would really be the much clichéd ‘mouth-watering’ encounter watched by millions, it must be kept in mind, that, all things remaining constant (read the English weather), only one team can win, and for the losing team and country it would turn into a bitter ‘eye-watering’ experience lasting for weeks.
