Stand up for the champions

Dropping Tendulkar four times, some sloppy fielding could have made the difference between defeat and victory.

The Pakistan team will not be carrying a trophy as it arrives back home from its World Cup outing in India. But the players should carry their heads high and step down from the plane with pride. Regardless of the semi-final loss to hosts India at Mohali, Pakistan has performed remarkably well for a team which has suffered so much hardship in recent times: Three leading players were banned earlier this year after a distasteful match-fixing scandal; the sudden exit of Zulqernain Haider from Dubai created another stir; Pakistan has not played an international match on home soil since the March 2009 terrorist attack on the visiting Sri Lankan team and all kinds of discord at Board level has marred the administration of the game. In the face of all this, Afridi and his men did well to reach the last stages of the competition, defying predictions they would flounder much sooner. Captain Shahid Afridi also spoke with maturity and good grace as he praised the Indian effort and apologised to his nation. The team deserves a heroic welcome as it gets back — from a people who have, for the most part, also accepted defeat as part of the game rather than a natural disaster.

But we still think of what might have been. Dropping a batsman of the class of Sachin Tendulkar four times and some other especially sloppy fielding displays could have made the difference between defeat and victory. It is also unfortunate that none of our big-name batsmen were in top form while the wicket-keeping department is one we need to look at very carefully.

The question of more careful pre-planning also arose, especially as the Indian batting line-up went for strike bowler Umar Gul, or as towards the end of the match, there seemed to be uncertainty with what to do as the required run-rate climbed to unmanageable levels. But all this is for the future. The Pakistan team has done its country proud and deserves to be treated as champions who have excelled both in their demonstration of spirit and of skill, and as ambassadors of peace. They deserve a round of standing applause.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 01^st, 2011.