When even the anti-climax was melodramatic

The rain brought in a sweet anti-climax to the Zimbabwe tour of Pakistan

LAHORE: It had been six years in the waiting. Expectations therefore were understandably high, but there was an uneasy feeling that the series would not live up to them. When so long is the wait and so great the hype, the occasion often tends to be anticlimactic.

That was not the case in the first match, which delivered an almost storybook ending;  skipper and the country’s undisputed cricketing star Shahid Khan Afridi hitting a boundary in the last over when four were needed off four. Problems, old and new, would have worried the precious few who were actually focusing on the cricket. But in the end it was the perfect result and a picture-perfect finish.

The second T20 then would surely be a bit more anticlimactic. An almost identical target was set by the Zimbabwe side. This time around the Pakistan wickets kept tumbling regularly in the chase. If the first one had been a case of Pakistan making a meal of it, then this one was them pulling off the great escape. 12 were required off the last over and number nine and 10 were at the crease. Perhaps a drawn T20 series would provide the anti-climax but a six, a two and a four later, Gaddafi echoed with screams of ‘Bhatti, Bhatti’. The series went 2-0 in Pakistan’s favour.

The visitors had been dealt with in the T20s — with varying degrees of comfort — and now attention turned to the three 50-over matches.

Pakistan started them off by making 375-3 — their highest ever score at home — in the first ODI. After a very long time, a match against a Test nation was all but academic after Pakistan’s first-innings. But Zimbabwe refused to lie down and managed to in turn make their highest score against a Test nation. A record run-fest satiated the thirst of the fans and gave Pakistan the lead in the ODIs, along with new skipper Azhar Ali’s first win after a disastrous tour of Bangladesh. Another match worthy of the occasion.

Next time around, Azhar chose to bowl first; with several of his bowlers having complained of the slippery nature of ball and field in Lahore’s late night dew. A much improved bowling performance ensued and Zimbabwe were restricted to just 268-7 despite a Sikandar Raza special. The batting followed it up to give Pakistan a comfortable six-wicket win — perhaps their first convincing performance of the series.

The series was won and all that remained was the final match. It may have been a dead rubber in the plot of the tour but in the grand scheme of things there was much more at stake than just pride; a loss would have been disastrous to Pakistan’s chances of qualifying for next year’s Champions Trophy, already trailing Bangladesh and West Indies by a point as it was.

A solid start by the openers was squandered by a middle-order collapse; a la Pakistan. Unlikely heroes in Babar Azam and Anwar Ali came to the rescue, once again a la Pakistan. A score of 296-9 should have been enough. Should.

Zimbabwe went off to a superb start, making 62-0 in eight overs. All four bowlers used seemed toothless and there were genuine fears that the hosts may pull off their highest-ever chase against Pakistan to grab a consolation.

This was, after all, the same team that had managed to make 334-5 in the first ODI with so much ease.

When play was stopped due to a technical fault and a sandstorm, four overs were docked and a revised target of 281 was set, making it even easier for the chasers. The track was flat as flat could be, the bowlers were struggling, the outfield was starting to get wet and the Zimbabwe batsmen looked in fine touch. The signs did not bode well for Pakistan, who just could not afford to lose the match. One over later, the score read 68-0 in nine overs — just 213 more runs needed off 222 balls with all 10 wickets in hand.

And then it started to rain. Sweet, sweet anti-climax.