So the final of the ongoing T20 World Cup will see a battle royal between Pakistan and England. This tournament has witnessed astonishing twists and turns. The team which had the most amazing roller coaster ride was Pakistan. For them it has been a remarkable turnaround. At one stage Pakistan was on the verge of elimination but the players remained undeterred. Their resolve helped them to climb uphill and overcome their opponents. Today they are in a position from where they can think of lifting the trophy.
And where are those Pakistan veterans who wrote off their own team’s chances? They have been silenced. Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar may have been legendary players but they must learn to choose their words with great care when commenting on any situation. After all cricket is a sport and in sport, anything can happen. Former Pakistan captain and later Prime Minister Imran Khan had once said that in cricket no team can be called winners or losers until the final ball has been bowled. In this context, Imran’s words proved to be absolutely right.
In ancient Greek mythology the Phoenix was an immortal bird that could be reborn by rising from the ashes of its predecessor. The origin of the phoenix folklore has also been attributed to ancient Egypt by Greek historian Herodotus and also 19th-century scholars. In the same way, the Pakistan cricket team which was written off and buried by their own seniors, has resurrected itself and risen to the top.
It was just a few days earlier that Pakistan captain Babar Azam was slammed by Pakistan’s legendary players over his consistent occupation of the opening spot despite his poor form. Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, two of the greatest fast bowlers to have ever played cricket, sent down a bouncer barrage at the present captain after Pakistan’s loss to Zimbabwe.
Stating that the opener’s position is the easiest place in the batting line up in the T20 format, Waqar Younis said that Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan have not allowed Pakistan to experiment at the opening position. Because of this, Pakistan’s performance has dipped with both batters failing consistently. Both Waqar and Wasim accused Babar of being an insecure and selfish batter and leader.
But they had to eat their words when Pakistan defeated New Zealand in the crucial semi-final match. Babar Azam scored 53 off 42 balls and Rizwan scored 57 off 43 balls to lay the foundation for Pakistan’s memorable victory march into the final. After New Zealand’s defeat their skipper Kane Williamson paid his opponents a great compliment when he said: “No shame in losing to this Pakistan side. They are the best T20 team in the world and nobody can match their passion.”
The important thing for Pakistan is that the jigsaw puzzle which had seemed impossible to solve, now seems to be falling in place. Besides Babar and Rizwan, the other players who shone in the second half of the tournament include Shadab Khan and Mohammad Haris, the 21-year-old lad from Peshawar whose blistering 28 runs from 11 balls in the match against South Africa instilled courage among his teammates.
Another strange coincidence is that Pakistan’s path seems to be following the same course as the one followed in the 1992 World Cup which they had won under the captaincy of Imran Khan. In 1992 also, Pakistan had lost its first match at Melbourne, lost to India in the group stage, won the last three group matches and defeated New Zealand in the semi-finals. In the final they played against England.
This time too, 30 years later, exactly the same things have happened. Now it remains to be seen whether they will again defeat England and become the World champions as they had done in 1992.
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