Once upon a time there was a girl named Zainab, who stumbled upon her parents watching test cricket, frowned and said “this is too slow”. Later she walked in on her brothers watching T20 cricket and said “this is too frantic”. Then she settled into her favorite spot on the couch, turned on the TV to Pakistan in a One Day International cricket match, smiled and felt, “mmm, this is just right”.
And I haven’t looked back since. Watching Pakistan in an ODI match is my ultimate favorite pastime. My favorite ODI players have been Shahid Afridi,Abdur Razzaq, Shoaib Akhtar, Saeed Anwar, Wasim Akram to name a few. What they all had in common was that they were match winners; always unflinching, gritty, fiercely competitive, and led from the front down to the last bowl no matter the outcome.
And while on paper the 2023 Pakistan team is one of the best we’ve ever had, boasting the worlds best batsman and as always, some of the worlds greatest bowlers, they’re still criticized for not winning big matches and lacking that competitive edge Pakistan cricket fans have historically expected. But they proved naysayers wrong today by comfortably blowing through ODI World Cup records and chasing down the highest total in history by scoring 345 against Sri Lanka – with 6 wickets in hand no less.
And this win highlights what I love about today’s Pakistan team; their quiet ingenuity and steadfast hopefulness.
Having been banned from partaking in the Indian Premier League, the worlds most popular and profitable T20 platform, Pakistan quietly focused on alternative avenues of play, building their own T20 league and remaining steadfast to developing ODI and Test format ready teams. So, when we see test cricketer Abdullah Shafique debut in ODI today by smashing a century like it’s no big deal, it’s testimony to years of Pakistan adapting, innovating and exceling despite the odds. Few if any teams would send a test cricketer out in a world cup ODI match against an A rated side and that too for his debut. But Pakistan did, and it worked, just as they knew it would. Just like when Saqlain Mushtaq invented the doosra sending world renowned batsman and the International Cricket Council into a tizzy because they couldn’t fathom let alone play such an innovative ball. Or when Shahid Afridi made his ODI debut smashing the ball around in the 1990’s like no one had ever seen, well before T20 was even a thing (Noteworthy opinion; MS Dhoni was India’s answer to Shahid Afridi). But I digress. See, when Pakistan was banned from the IPL, it ensured their cricketing would never be complacent, it would continue to innovate and rise above a deck stacked against them.
Abdullah Shafiq takes a bow after scoring a century in his debut ODI world cup match
Pakistan has always risen to challenges in cricket and we saw that in spades today with Mohammad Rizwan, coming in at number 4, playing through injury refusing to retire and leading his team to victory.
So let history be a guide; stop banning team Pakistan from cricket — it’s depriving other nations of innovations that are going to upend them in future matches. Or, nations can continue to ban them and behold innovation after innovation from team Pakistan proving that necessity is indeed, the mother of all invention.
It’s said that Chuck Norris has no fear. Fear has Chuck Norris”. Funny, but that’s mythical. Real fear comes from Pakistan’s all rounder Abdul Razzaq, a silent Cricketing stalwart whose rightly deemed the “Danger Man’. Without Shahid Afridi’s brazenness, Shoaib Ahktar’s offensive aggression, or Inzamam’s star power, Razzaq has quietly, and consistently wrecked havoc on world class teams. Suffice to say his dangerousness runs deep, but it could only have been concealed for so long. Trending on Twitter since yesterday, he stunned the cricket world in what a BBC Sports Blogger tweeted: “109 not out off 72 balls with 10 sixes, Razzaq pulls off one of the great heists in ODI history” J
Heist is right. Because Razzaq robbed South Africa blind in yesterday’s ODI. Just as South Africa’s victory seemed inevitable with Pakistan 5 wickets down for 136 in the 30th over chasing a massive total, the Danger Man serenely stepped to the pitch. Without flinching at only 20 over’s with which to make 250 runs requiring a massive 7.5 run rate, Danger Man began his attack.
Devising not a slogging onslaught, but a strategic, carefully developed batting ambush only Razzaq could execute,
he began with the support of rookie batsman Fawaad Alam. They maintained a steady run rate of 6.5 bringing them to a respectable partnership of 88. But in comes rookie middle order batsman/wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider. There’s gotta be better players to choose from in Pakistan than this guy who gets run out for a score of 6. Nonetheless, Razzaq calmly takes the setback in stride and with only tail enders left, he remains the last batsman standing to chase 60 runs in 6 overs. But he anticipated that.
With a half century under his belt, he picks up the pace: smashing 26 runs in the next 3 overs. But just before he tries to get the strike back at the end of the 46th over, bowler Wahaab Riaz is run out, and 3 balls later, another man falls. Nine wickets down, one more out and the game is over. South Africa’s crushing triumph over Pakistan in this series seems inevitable. Razzaq is the only man standing with 2.3 over’s remaining and 29 required for victory.
Classic Pakistan. And Razzaq knows it. He anticipated it the moment he began to bat, thus taking the match into his own hands, and becoming Danger Man.
Well aware that Shoaib Akhtar is the Worlds Fastest bowler, not the greatest batsman, Razzaq undertakes full responsibility. In the last 2 overs, he safely but skillfully hits 4-5 balls into the gap when Akhtar reasonably began to run for the single’s & doubles. But Razzaq confidently instructed otherwise. Now that’s scary. If I was South Africa, I’d fear a man needing near 30 runs to save any face in a series with less than 3 overs left yet still tells his partner not to run. That’s intrepid. Razzaq was sending a message to everyone: “Stay. I got this”
Pakistan's Danger Man - Abdul Razzaq Conquers South Africa in Abu Dhabi 2010
Talk about presence. Fearing why he’s NOT scrambling to make these last runs, South Africa had to wonder what the heck this guy had up his sleeve and tremble at his audacity.
In preventing Akhtar from risking a wicket to take seemingly critical runs, Razzaq upped his own responsibility, demonstrating tremendous leadership, strategic thinking, confidence and damn powerful cricket. For me this command and control was the highlight of the game. He took the colossal task of rescuing Pakistan from humiliation in the series solely upon his own shoulders.
He maintained confidence, composure and leadership in seeing the ball well, skillfully directing the ball, and meticulously assessing the match at each interval. Knowing how to make everything go off the middle of the bat, he was conquering South Africa despite their weighty total and floundering Pakistani batting.
In fact, come the last three overs Akhtar only sees 1 of those 12 balls, because Razzaq just didn’t let him take strike. Taking complete responsibility upon himself rather than risk loss, he allowed Akhtar to run once for a single just before the last over. Shoaib dot balled it, returning strike to Razzaq.
Decisive final over. Pakistan needs 14 runs off 6 balls.
After smashing another six, Danger Man is at 99 runs and doesn’t flinch. Just smashes another one one for 6. Catapulting him to 105. There’s no celebration: he simply raises his bat, promptly brings it back and focuses on his strategy and the larger task at hand.
Then there’s a dot ball. 2 runs needed off the last 3 balls. And that’s when the South African skipper worries. The fact that Danger Man didn’t celebrate 105 off of 70 balls again had to leave them wondering who the heck this guy is and what he’s going to pull next. South Africa unsuccesfully appeals on a caught behind for Razzaq. But Danger Man unfazed with just two runs required won’t even need to run: he hits the next ball for a boundary and jumps up and tosses his bat in the air.
With two sixes to seal a win in the last over, it marked his his 10th six in the game. Danger Man scored 63 of the whole teams last 65 runs to overcome the weighty chase. It was all Abdul Razzaq. Not even a wide or no ball to help him, South Africa cut him no slack and he single handedly achieved the Pakistan victory in this series.
He’s always been my favorite. It’s this Danger Man that should forever instill fear in anyone who plays against Pakistan with him in the lineup. No win is certain so long as Abdul Razzaq’s around 😉
On the second day of a five-day test match between England and Pakistan,picture yourself as a young bowler, just out of your teens and already being anticipated as the next Wasim Akram.You represent a country that’s flooded by pain and suffering of natural disaster, plus the torment of an unnatural flood of arms, and terrorism. To top it off your home turf is off limits because of lacking security and you’re playing cricket on a foreign ground; in a country who ruled you in colonial grip for over 200 years, a tinge that might linger 63 years later.
The stage is set. The batting lineup has already let you down, and your bowling is expected to carry the team to a respectable outcome.But the angels above have arranged for ideal weather conditions and a pitch perfect for your deadly pace. The Gods are giving Pakistan an opportunity for redemption.
You take to the pitch and imagine sending a fierce, fast, reverse swinging bowling onslaught on the opponent. They’ve already overtaken your score yesterday, so you’re aiming to contain them, preserving the scant runs your side managed, and bowl the opposition out as soon as possible. You take a run up. Jogging 20 yards toward the batsman; you release the ball and he is confounded. You feel a rush of excitement. Batsman nicks it, sending the ball aloft for the simplest of catches. Your excitement steadily intensifies and you think to yourself; the Gods are on my side.You watch the ball elevate into the sky, higher, and higher and slowly descend. The Gods have arranged for it fall directly in front of first slip, and you eye your teammate’s hand intently. The ball falls directly into his palms and you feel relieved; this is the one job you can count on first slip to do. He also happens to be a top order batsman who should be longing to save face and take this crucial wicket to make up for his less than sufficient run rate. You take into account the team has already let three catches go, optimism pervades and you think, “we definitely have this one”.
Pakistan another Drop Catch in Cricket vs England - August 2010
Every millisecond feels like miles as the ball falls into first slips hands. Fielders jump in victory and the crowd cheers but simultaneously, first slip drops the ball as it falls dead into the still green grass.
For a second maybe no body saw it, but the bowler is crestfallen.Excitement deflated. With a tear that never fell, he looks at the young man at slip. Slip stares back at him and with words he can’t muster, the bowler bravely smiles. His heart is racing with a million emotions but zero time to reflect on any of them, the bowler desperately focuses. His brain wants to let something out to his teammate, on his team who didn’t score enough runs, and dropping no less than 4 catches squandering opportunities the Gods laid out in this match.
I couldn’t take it anymore. I got up and made myself tea. Even thousands of miles away from England, even farther away from Pakistan, I didn’t want to face the complexities of what that bowler might have felt.So I raise my hands in prayer to whoever controls the world around us and say please, give Pakistan a break.
It reminds me of Earnest Borgnine in the Poseidon Adventure when he looks up to God in the middle of disaster and cries: “What more do you want of us? We’ve come all this way on our own no help from you. We did ask you to fight for us but damn it, don’t fight against us!”
Give Pakistan a break. I urge everyone who reads this article that as the brave bowler took strength to smile, recuperate and move forward, if you do nothing else, donate to the flood victims. Pakistan needs hope right now, and every contribution, big or small, will go a long way for those in need.
Pakistan Warms up for the Asia Cup India Match - June 2010
Well, it’s that time again. An India vs. Pakistan ODI match will be underway in a few moments. And there’s nothing like India-Pakistan cricket. For better or worse, it’s THE epic rivalry; it get’s catty, intense, fans are insanely polarized. It’s basically crickets equivalent to the NHL’s Crosby / Ovechkin rivalry. For my non-sports readers, it’s akin to team Aniston vs team Angelina. (for the record: I’m team Ovechkin and Angelina respectively)
But whether you’re a Pakistan or India fan, both teams are somewhat evenly matched at this time with Pakistan having more depth and raw talent, and India with firm composure, more consistent experience and better record in recent history. So it’s likely going to be a nail biter, winding down to the final over to determine a winner.
So, what’s it going to take for the men in green? Here’s what’s swimming around my head before the game:
Afridi: Stay the same. Awesome performance in the last game as skipper. In typical Afridi character he lived up to the “boom boom” title and strong character we expect from him. With 110 off of 75 it was his natural game catapulted to great heights with leadership and consistency. Good news is he has a tendency to excel against India. Let’s hope that form is maintained.
Salman Butt: Hold your wicket yo. He usually does, but it’s not always certain, yet crucial that he does so today. The Indian bowling attack looks mediocre, but don’t underestimate their pace bowling. Zaheer Khan is in the attack and Nehra could do harm too.
Abdur Razzaq: My favorite All rounder must be the Danger Man today. What does that mean? It means if we need it, you make 14 runs an over. No questions asked. Oh, and when we need those key maiden overs in the last hour of their lineup, keep up the bowling defense.
Kamran Akmal: Please no butterfingers. This is a world class game and an epic rivalry, no room for drop catches. Also, be quicker on the stumpings. Be a solid bat; a clutch hitter picking up the run rate consistently as a lower order batsman and even more so if you’re pushed up the order.
Mohammad Aamer: Come in strong and shut down Sehwag. Perhaps cut him some slack early on, get him into a slogging mindset then throw on pressure with an ultra slow ball. Sehwag’s bat is so fast that this is bound to be confusing to his game.
Shahzaib Hasan: Damn rookie stop playing like it’s a test match.
Shoaib Akhtar: Watch the extras, nuff said. If The Rawalpindi express does this, there’s no stopping him.
Shoaib Malik: Be at the top of your game, back form a honeymoon we need to see classic Malik in your best form. Picking off Harbhajan smashing off a couple sixes, fielding like a beast, and with accurate off spin.
Umar Akmal: Run with raw talent. You’ve got the youth, energy and can hold your wicket with a solid strike rate. Pick up the occasional boundary and stay consistent.
Prediction :::: the game changer will be either Shoaib Malik or Shoab Akhtar. They’re comback kids and can steal matches for Pakistan. They’ve done it in classic form in the past, and i want to see them do it again tonight.
Zee Tv’s been advertising the Sri Lanka India series with the tag line: “the two great Asian teams face off” and just into game 1, it’s lived up to hype.
Batting’s the name of the game so far with India winning the toss and electing to bat on a track prime for the likes of Tendulkar and Sehwag. But they lost 4 quick wickets beginning with Gautam Gambhir who opened with just 1 run off 10 balls. Very disappointing, because having elected to bat, it’s the openers responsibility to take initiative of controlling the game early on, and with Sehwag at the other end, things looked positive in the first two overs. But an amateur mistake cost Gambhir when he played a shot leaving his bat seemingly miles away form his pad. First rule of defensive batting in a supporting role: keep your bat close to your pads! Gambhir was supposed to be Sehwag’s support and when left handed Welegedara pitched a fair in-swinger (out-swinger to lefty Gambhir) he should have known better than keep his bat so far away. (In Gambhir’s defense though, Walegadara’s left handed bowling to his left handed batting is difficult to face so early in the attack).
No excuses for Sehwag though. It was clear from the onset he was in ODI mode. Generating 16 runs off 11 balls was a treat in the first 3 overs, but did little good for the team. Sehwag failed to read Walegadara’s in-swing keeping his bat prepared for a straight ball, making him plum for the LBW picking. With both openers out, the match was set for Tendulkar as the Master batsman and Dravid as the “Wall” to take center stage. But the partnership fell short of expectations when Sachin, like Sehwag seemed to be in ODI form, smashing a boundary on the first ball, but getting out 2 balls later when Walegadara struck again. Laxman fell for a duck thereafter but Dravid, in classic form was a God send coming in with India at 4 for 32.
Rahul Dravid came in & did what he does best: be the “Wall”. I realized in this match, he’s the most composed batsman in the world. And like any great form of art, be it music, theatre, painting or another sport, Dravid slows down time with his work. He bats like there’s an eternity at hand and as if wickets simply haven’t fallen. He operates beyond circumstances with a precise composure to demonstrate a maturity that a lot of batsman just lack. And that value is realized in test matches where time is secondary to holding ones wicket. Dravid didn’t once hold his bat in an aggressive position, it was mostly downward, playing each ball safely with much needed control. He didn’t go out of his way to smash any ball, but beautifully directed the pace of key balls into gaps, or nudged them just enough to get multiple runs when it was safe to do so. I think Dravid is the most conservatively effective batsman in the game today. Inzamam ul-Haq’s early days come to mind as someone comparable. You can never go wrong with a text book batsmen in test cricket: Dravid’s footwork is consistently flawless, his bat is always close to the pads and his eyes are never off the ball. It’s no wonder he led the team to a record breaking comeback making 177 off 261 bringing India to the very respectable total of 476.
Day two: knowing that to win the match Sri Lanka would need a high run rate, opener Dilshan stepped up to bat a beautiful 112 off 133, (wonderful batting acceptable for even an ODI). His contribution was key in the same way Dravid’s was to ensuring Sri Lanka maintain wickets, while keeping the run rate up. Also, Dhoni made some basic mistakes that enhanced Sri Lanka’s game. Dhoni brought in spinner Harbhajan much too early into the attack. In about the 6th over, Dhoni broke the rhythm of his fast bowlers by unorthodoxly having Harbhajan bowl. Strike bowlers play at least 10-15+ overs and spinners normally aren’t used to or are effective with newer balls because they don’t get spin. So bringing in a spinner was an unnecessary, and costly move that allowed Sri Lanka to open up their batting which settled into a good rhythm to chalk up a very nice run rate. Jaywardene in particular is playing one of the most beautiful centuries i’ve seen in awhile.
So to continue on and win this, Sri Lanka should play the entire day and chalk up a strong total of roughly 500+ runs, then declare and try to clean out India in day 4. If India wants to win from hre on out, they should focus squarely on better wicket taking. Harbhajan should be used later in the overs and Zaheer’s aggressiveness should continue to take more wickets. India should have bowled Sri Lanka for a maximum of 475, but Sri Lanka isn’t falling before that, they’re already at a magnificent 435-5. So India should be looking for solid opening in their next innings, and a total of at least 400+ again, while still leaving themselves enough time to get Sri Lanka all out. Whichever way this goes though, i think we’re in for some classy innings 🙂
Excited about Pakistan’s victory in todays ODI vs. India at the ICC Champions Trophy, i looked for YouTube highlights of previous India Pakistan matches hoping to relive thrilling performances of batsmen trembling at Akram/Younis yorkers or some record breaking Tendulkar/Sehwag innings. But I was unable to find a consolidated reel of South Asian highlights as such. It seems all content pertaining to Indian and Pakistani Cricket are elaborately produced showcases of either country triumphing over the other, or amusing clips revealing serious sledging between both teams over the years. And that’s understandable, it’s a competitive sport and fans create videos for the teams they support.
But something is changing. I don’t think fans are looking at these videos the same way as years past. Sambit Bal wrote a nice precursor to today’s match describing the epic India Pakistan rivalry as something far more profound than just another sporting competition. He says cricket in South Asia “has always been close to the national identity”. Quite astutely, he describes how it’s then used: “sometimes as a salve, sometimes a weapon; it has enabled bonding and it has divide; at times it has been a bridge, at others a vehicle for ugly chauvinism; and governments have used it as both a handshake as well as a show of fists”. And therein lies the dilemma.
India Pakistan matches are tremendously exciting, wrought with raw enthusiasm and incredible anticipation, but wind up raising stakes far higher than are normal or necessary. Bal says cricket is close to South Asian “national identity”, and in conversations I’ve heard matches described as akin to “war” or “religion”. That’s just going too far.
To inextricably tie these matches to one’s identity or religious affiliation let alone actual combat is absurd, but fortunately, a phenomenon that’s shrinking. Less and less are India Pakistan matches carrying the same weight for masses and even players. Bal explains that because matches between the countries have increased since 2004, an
“overkill took away the anticipation and intensity. But from a larger perspective, it also took away the heat and emotional charge, and that was not a bad thing at all. Since they were always playing, wins and losses no longer felt like life and death. It felt somewhat dull, but it also felt sane.”
Ahhhh, it felt sane. Now that’s a great way to put it. Cricket shouldn’t be a tool or driving force of nationality, politics let alone international relations. That’s a recipe for perpetual division, which is the last thing South Asia, or the world for that matter needs right now. So even if India Pakistan matches are seeing diminished anticipation, at least it shifts our focus toward the game itself rather than political, social and religious issues which ought to be unrelated. Because a heightened concentration on the game of cricket can finally allow us to debate what’s truly interesting. Like how Pakistan is the only team capable of winning a match in the last ten over’s by scoring 100+ runs while India is the only team who can do that in the first ten 😉
Zainab B. Jeewanjee
Zainab Jeewanjee 
Pakistan’s Silent Superstar
November 1, 2010It’s said that Chuck Norris has no fear. Fear has Chuck Norris”. Funny, but that’s mythical. Real fear comes from Pakistan’s all rounder Abdul Razzaq, a silent Cricketing stalwart whose rightly deemed the “Danger Man’. Without Shahid Afridi’s brazenness, Shoaib Ahktar’s offensive aggression, or Inzamam’s star power, Razzaq has quietly, and consistently wrecked havoc on world class teams. Suffice to say his dangerousness runs deep, but it could only have been concealed for so long. Trending on Twitter since yesterday, he stunned the cricket world in what a BBC Sports Blogger tweeted: “109 not out off 72 balls with 10 sixes, Razzaq pulls off one of the great heists in ODI history” J
Heist is right. Because Razzaq robbed South Africa blind in yesterday’s ODI. Just as South Africa’s victory seemed inevitable with Pakistan 5 wickets down for 136 in the 30th over chasing a massive total, the Danger Man serenely stepped to the pitch. Without flinching at only 20 over’s with which to make 250 runs requiring a massive 7.5 run rate, Danger Man began his attack.
he began with the support of rookie batsman Fawaad Alam. They maintained a steady run rate of 6.5 bringing them to a respectable partnership of 88. But in comes rookie middle order batsman/wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider. There’s gotta be better players to choose from in Pakistan than this guy who gets run out for a score of 6. Nonetheless, Razzaq calmly takes the setback in stride and with only tail enders left, he remains the last batsman standing to chase 60 runs in 6 overs. But he anticipated that.
With a half century under his belt, he picks up the pace: smashing 26 runs in the next 3 overs. But just before he tries to get the strike back at the end of the 46th over, bowler Wahaab Riaz is run out, and 3 balls later, another man falls. Nine wickets down, one more out and the game is over. South Africa’s crushing triumph over Pakistan in this series seems inevitable. Razzaq is the only man standing with 2.3 over’s remaining and 29 required for victory.
Well aware that Shoaib Akhtar is the Worlds Fastest bowler, not the greatest batsman, Razzaq undertakes full responsibility. In the last 2 overs, he safely but skillfully hits 4-5 balls into the gap when Akhtar reasonably began to run for the single’s & doubles. But Razzaq confidently instructed otherwise. Now that’s scary. If I was South Africa, I’d fear a man needing near 30 runs to save any face in a series with less than 3 overs left yet still tells his partner not to run. That’s intrepid. Razzaq was sending a message to everyone: “Stay. I got this”
Pakistan's Danger Man - Abdul Razzaq Conquers South Africa in Abu Dhabi 2010
Talk about presence. Fearing why he’s NOT scrambling to make these last runs, South Africa had to wonder what the heck this guy had up his sleeve and tremble at his audacity.
He maintained confidence, composure and leadership in seeing the ball well, skillfully directing the ball, and meticulously assessing the match at each interval. Knowing how to make everything go off the middle of the bat, he was conquering South Africa despite their weighty total and floundering Pakistani batting.
In fact, come the last three overs Akhtar only sees 1 of those 12 balls, because Razzaq just didn’t let him take strike. Taking complete responsibility upon himself rather than risk loss, he allowed Akhtar to run once for a single just before the last over. Shoaib dot balled it, returning strike to Razzaq.
Decisive final over. Pakistan needs 14 runs off 6 balls.
Then there’s a dot ball. 2 runs needed off the last 3 balls. And that’s when the South African skipper worries. The fact that Danger Man didn’t celebrate 105 off of 70 balls again had to leave them wondering who the heck this guy is and what he’s going to pull next. South Africa unsuccesfully appeals on a caught behind for Razzaq. But Danger Man unfazed with just two runs required won’t even need to run: he hits the next ball for a boundary and jumps up and tosses his bat in the air.
He’s always been my favorite. It’s this Danger Man that should forever instill fear in anyone who plays against Pakistan with him in the lineup. No win is certain so long as Abdul Razzaq’s around 😉
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