Miandad’s role: The anchor who lifted the team

KARACHI:

When the newly crowned world champions walked off the ground in jubilation, the two senior members of the team – Imran Khan and Javed Miandad – hugged each other just before the boundary rope as scenes of wild celebrations erupted all around the famous Melbourne Cricket Ground, and indeed more than 10,000 kilometres away in Pakistan.

They say all’s well that ends well, but it had so nearly not been so for the men in green. In fact, after the first few matches, they were decided outsiders to do what they ended up doing — emerge as the winners.

Pakistan started the tournament by losing to the West Indies by 10 wickets, failing to take even a single wicket as the Caribbean side chased down 221. They bounced back with a routine win over minnows Zimbabwe, but their batting line-up was exposed in the third match as they were bundled out for 74 against England, only for their campaign to be kept alive by the weather.

That was followed by defeats against India and South Africa, and Pakistan were all but written off. But in typical fashion, they bounced back with three straight wins against Australia, Sri Lanka and New Zealand. This helped them sneak through to the semi-finals, courtesy of that one point gained against England.



From there on, Pakistan never looked back, with Miandad acting as the batting lynchpin, allowing the younger players to play around him.

And Miandad, who finished the tournament as the second-highest run-getter with 437 runs in nine matches, recalls his role in the World Cup triumph. “Senior players are always important in big events because of their experience and the calming effect they can have on the youngsters,” said Miandad, while talking to The Express Tribune.

The hero of 92 believes that senior players must deliver once again if Pakistan are to have a chance to repeat their triumph. “It’s not easy to play in Australia and New Zealand and you have to be at your best,” he said. “In 1992, the seniors played their part to take pressure off the youngsters and 2015 will have to be no different. Those who think Pakistan can play well without Younus Khan and Misbahul Haq in our batting line-up are being naïve.”

Cometh the hour, cometh the man

Miandad displayed the cool head on his shoulders in the semi-final run chase against New Zealand. Pakistan needed someone to play the anchor role, someone around whom the more explosive players can perform, and Miandad stepped up to the plate. His unbeaten 57 off 69 balls allowed younger players such as Inzamamul Haq and Moin Khan to take the attack to the Kiwi bowling.

But Miandad was not done, and in the final it came as no surprise that he was there for Pakistan once again. Batting first, the men in green had both their openers back in the pavilion with just 24 on the board. Out came Miandad, to join skipper Imran.

Slowly the two rebuilt Pakistan’s innings and slowly they started to gain momentum. But the Melbourne heat took its toll on the man from Karachi and he was asked by the team physio to retire hurt.

But the then 34-year-old was made of sterner stuff and refused to leave the field – his work was not yet done, the cup was not yet won – even though he had to ask for a runner later on when he could no longer even run.

By the time he was dismissed on 58, a 139-run stand and more than two hours later, the launchpad had been set for Inzamam and Wasim Akram, whose cameos took Pakistan to 249-6.

Wasim and Mushtaq Ahmed then took three wickets apiece to dismiss England for 227.

“We believed in our own abilities,” he said. “It was that positive attitude that saw us through even when the chips were down. You have got to take responsibility because that is how you become a game-changer and do well against the odds.”

If Imran was the leader of the battalion, then Miandad was its brain, and it is telling that when the man from Mianwali walked off the field one last time – as a World Cup winning captain – he embraced the man that had helped him win the coveted trophy perhaps more than anyone else.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 13^th, 2015.

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