When Pakistan defied the odds

Azhar Ali’s heartening 103, Sarfraz Ahmed’s game changing 48 and Misbahul Haq’s unbeaten 68 was a treat for...

In a country plagued with everyday as well as chronic woes, all instances of achievements on national level are a cause for the common man to to revel in the knowledge that he is a part of the nation that did him proud. The Pakistan cricket team gave its people just that reason at the right time.

The most delightful element of Pakistan’s victory over Sri Lanka in the final Test was the unpredictable manner in which the team turned the tide after a disappointing four-day performance. An off-putting bowling and batting show in the first innings had dashed all the hopes of audience and pundits alike, but the very same departments played up to their full potential on the last day, triggering a raucous display of celebration among fans back home.



For a team that is hardly famous for successfully chasing daunting targets, Pakistan’s batsmen not only played intelligent shots but kept their cool in the face of Sri Lanka’s desperate manoeuvres who were seemingly pulling out all stops in order to salvage a draw.

The psychological state of our national team carried the day, achieving a daunting total of 302 runs in 57.3 overs with nine balls to spare.

Choking, stuttering and repetitive miscuing was not part of the batsmen’s agenda on the decisive day as they refused to settle for a draw and let Sri Lanka take the series.

Azhar Ali’s heartening 103, Sarfraz Ahmed’s game changing 48 and captain Misbahul Haq’s unbeaten 68 was a treat for sore eyes.

While Azhar’s fifth Test century may not be considered an imposing feat for an individual cricketer, the fact that it was scored with his future uncertain amid a long sequence of failures was grounds for a much-needed victory for Pakistan who were been given flak for their below-par performance in the first two Tests.

Similarly, the bowlers upped their ante on the fifth day, shaking off sluggishness to restrict Sri Lanka to 214 in the morning session. Spin twins Abdur Rehman and Saeed Ajmal took four and three wickets respectively as they were brilliantly backed by the pace and accuracy of another comeback wonder Mohammad Talha.

Suffice to say, it was a team effort in its truest sense that enabled Pakistan to tumble Test records; it was the fastest 300 plus run-chase for any team and the second-highest successful chase for Pakistan.

All said and done, it is still too early to expect that the overwhelming performance of the national team (coinciding with coach Dav Whatmore’s farewell) on the last day of the final Test will herald an era of consistently good cricket.

The world has witnessed such flashes of brilliance from the cricket team time and again, only for it to fizzle out in the next assignment.

It appears unpredictability will remain Pakistan’s bane for the times to come and the team will keep vacillating between excellence and mediocrity.

However, the hope is that what we predict does not come to pass more often than necessary.

The writer is a sub-editor at The Express Tribune

Published in The Express Tribune, January 24^th, 2014.

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