How good will be the mixture of anger, hunger, prodigious talent and equally tarnished character? Pakistan’s cricket team is one such eclectic mixture and it’s so very exciting to watch them play.
I happened to watch the match between Sri Lanka and Pakistan on last Saturday. I was watching Pakistan play after a very long time. A non-descript line up with a few recognizable names- I wondered if they could make a match out of it with Sri Lankans widely touted to spring a surprise this world cup. My presumptions and assumptions were blown away to pieces after watching Pakistan tear away the way they did.
It surely was a toughly contested match with the advantages playing ping pong between both the teams but, it still was a day when Pakistan held Sri Lankans by the scruff of their necks not giving away any of the pressure.
Batting first, they did not really fire away until late in the innings. The way the initial 3 wickets fell was bizarre, especially the way Hafeez ran himself out. It was clearly a Kamran call to run but Hafeez stayed and then did not even attempt the run after Murali missed the throw from Sangakkara. Kamran got out trying to go for some pinch hitting. It was all blood and nerves. After that, it was interesting watching Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq consolidate the innings. Younis Khan was especially reassuring, picking up the 1s and 2s intelligently. This is where Sri Lanka lost the plot; they could have been aggressive during this phase.
When Sri Lanka came to bat, the bowlers then made sure that the pressure never eased off, forcing them to make mistakes. The fielding was extremely aggressive. Just when things seemed to go out of hand for Pakistan, with Sangakkara growing in confidence, Afridi pitched in with his tricks. Then on, Chamara Silva had to keep the chase together, so the mantle to accelerate fell on Samaraveera, Angelo Mathews but they all fell to the pressure of the mounting run rate. What the Lankans needed was to hold their nerves. Mathews needn’t have gone for the shot in the Afridi over. It was Afridi’s last over and there were other bowlers who could be dealt with easily.
But then, it was Pakistan’s day. The team is so young and bizarre. What else can you say of a team that wins the match in spite of missing some very important catches, some easy run-outs and giving away about 30 runs in extras? It’s not the figures alone; some scenes on the field were equally crazy. Shohaib shakes his head in disgust one second and in the very next delivery bowls out Jayawardene with a superb delivery. On the other hand, Afridi yells at his bowlers for delaying the over rate and then very soon, is seen consoling Rehman for missing out that easy catch. Kamran Akmal goes complaining to Afridi to go for a review against an umpiring decision. He is pleading like a kid fighting for his/ her candy.
What was evident though, was the hunger the team exuded throughout the match. They were ready to do anything to win the match. This can be a dangerous proposition for the other teams. Often, it’s the hungry team that wins than the talented ones.
I still remember the India-Pakistan match of 1996 when Venkatesh Prasad bowled out Aamir Sohail. That moment sparked hunger in the Indian team. The same emotion led us to fight back into the 2003 WC and the same won us our 1983 WC, 2002 Natwest series and 2007 T20 WC.
There’s a scene in “All the Presiden’t men” which talks of hunger. 2 young reporters come across evidence on the US President’s Watergate Scandal. They don’t get a go-ahead from the newspaper’s head as he feels that they are not experienced enough for this kind of hot material. The editor tells the boss- “These guys are hungry, for god’s sake. When was the last time you were hungry?” The 2 reporters go on to unravel one of the biggest scandals in US history.
I happened to watch the match between Sri Lanka and Pakistan on last Saturday. I was watching Pakistan play after a very long time. A non-descript line up with a few recognizable names- I wondered if they could make a match out of it with Sri Lankans widely touted to spring a surprise this world cup. My presumptions and assumptions were blown away to pieces after watching Pakistan tear away the way they did.
It surely was a toughly contested match with the advantages playing ping pong between both the teams but, it still was a day when Pakistan held Sri Lankans by the scruff of their necks not giving away any of the pressure.
Batting first, they did not really fire away until late in the innings. The way the initial 3 wickets fell was bizarre, especially the way Hafeez ran himself out. It was clearly a Kamran call to run but Hafeez stayed and then did not even attempt the run after Murali missed the throw from Sangakkara. Kamran got out trying to go for some pinch hitting. It was all blood and nerves. After that, it was interesting watching Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq consolidate the innings. Younis Khan was especially reassuring, picking up the 1s and 2s intelligently. This is where Sri Lanka lost the plot; they could have been aggressive during this phase.
When Sri Lanka came to bat, the bowlers then made sure that the pressure never eased off, forcing them to make mistakes. The fielding was extremely aggressive. Just when things seemed to go out of hand for Pakistan, with Sangakkara growing in confidence, Afridi pitched in with his tricks. Then on, Chamara Silva had to keep the chase together, so the mantle to accelerate fell on Samaraveera, Angelo Mathews but they all fell to the pressure of the mounting run rate. What the Lankans needed was to hold their nerves. Mathews needn’t have gone for the shot in the Afridi over. It was Afridi’s last over and there were other bowlers who could be dealt with easily.
But then, it was Pakistan’s day. The team is so young and bizarre. What else can you say of a team that wins the match in spite of missing some very important catches, some easy run-outs and giving away about 30 runs in extras? It’s not the figures alone; some scenes on the field were equally crazy. Shohaib shakes his head in disgust one second and in the very next delivery bowls out Jayawardene with a superb delivery. On the other hand, Afridi yells at his bowlers for delaying the over rate and then very soon, is seen consoling Rehman for missing out that easy catch. Kamran Akmal goes complaining to Afridi to go for a review against an umpiring decision. He is pleading like a kid fighting for his/ her candy.
What was evident though, was the hunger the team exuded throughout the match. They were ready to do anything to win the match. This can be a dangerous proposition for the other teams. Often, it’s the hungry team that wins than the talented ones.
I still remember the India-Pakistan match of 1996 when Venkatesh Prasad bowled out Aamir Sohail. That moment sparked hunger in the Indian team. The same emotion led us to fight back into the 2003 WC and the same won us our 1983 WC, 2002 Natwest series and 2007 T20 WC.
There’s a scene in “All the Presiden’t men” which talks of hunger. 2 young reporters come across evidence on the US President’s Watergate Scandal. They don’t get a go-ahead from the newspaper’s head as he feels that they are not experienced enough for this kind of hot material. The editor tells the boss- “These guys are hungry, for god’s sake. When was the last time you were hungry?” The 2 reporters go on to unravel one of the biggest scandals in US history.
Comments
Love to read your writing.