Boys, never mind!
It was a déjà vu for Pakistan. A repeat of the 1992 Melbourne victory against the same Colonial adversary was in sight. But the Green Shirts could not hold the momentum for long, and England were crowned T20 World Cup champions. It is a feat, nonetheless, that the Pakistani side put up a brave fight and they zealously guarded their minor posting of 137 runs. Had a 20-odd runs more been on the board, the trophy would have certainly come down to Lahore. Though Babar Azam boys struggled, they kept their spirits high and remained glued to their obsession of making it big. Their storming into the semi-final after being trashed in league matches, another repeat of 1992 fixtures, is a tribute to their performance and, of course, resilience.
The least that could be said in consolation was that luck was not on Pakistan’s side. November 13 belonged to Londoners, and they managed to do it in all resoluteness. Star-pacer Shaheen Afridi’s injury, after he went on to bag the first wicket of Alex Hales, made the difference felt. Likewise, some flawed fielding and two reviews going against Pakistan made it concurrent that the score of 137 is tricky and cannot be held on for long. A couple of loose swings from Iftikhar Ahmed going on to touch-base the boundaries on the part of Ben Stokes in the final overs of the game inevitably sealed the fate. Still the fall of the fifth wicket at the eleventh hour made a valuable point that the boys have not given up.
Sunday’s fight posted by Pakistan in the T20 World Cup 2022 was superbly classic despite professional lacunas. The good point is that Melbourne’s cloudy skies apart from a sizzling audience at the jam-packed stadium, as well as millions of fans worldwide, were at justice — and a great game of cricket will long be remembered. Pakistani boys and the cricket gurus will surely have to do some soul-searching to fix the fissures and mend the fences to avoid a similar electrifying loss next time.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 14th, 2022.
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