Pakistan’s Asia Cup victory: Silencing the naysayers
You’re sitting at the office swamped with work and don’t want to do it – it’s the usual mood before a long weekend. Add to it the opportunity to watch Pakistan battle it out with Bangladesh for the crown of the Asian championship, and you have people just willing the clock to strike five. It was in this mood that we sat in the lunch area streaming the match live at around 1.30 PM on Thursday. During that passage of play, Pakistan lost two cheap wickets. Some declared that we were going to lose this, some weren’t sure and some ...
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Overconfidence cost Pakistan
” Before you attempt to beat the odds, be sure you could survive the odds beating you. “ Pakistan were clearly overconfident when the ODI series between England and Pakistan started but forgot that overconfidence precedes carelessness. Perhaps they underestimated the English side as did everyone else, they lead the four match series 2-0. Who would have thought things will turn around within a week? For Pakistan the problem lies with the team selection and poor planning. England didn’t bring drastic changes to their team for the ODI’s and just included specialists Ravi ...
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Team Pakistan: Back with a bang!
Can anything taste sweeter than victory? If you are a Pakistani fan who has gone through the spot-fixing case, the ensuing talks of banishing Pakistan from world cricket, the semi-final losses in the World T20 and World Cup 2011, clearly not. And what if that victory is against the number one side in the world? It just makes it all the more sweet. It might take a couple of days for this to settle in. Consider this- in 2010, the cricketing world was so irritated with a particular team and the board’s chairman that there were talks of throwing them ...
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Saeed Ajmal, the doosra Saqlain
Off-spin bowling has never been as glamorous and stylish an art as leg-spin. In fact, it wasn’t long ago when off-spin wasn’t event considered an art, as every part timer could roll over his arm for an end changing spell of off-spinning lollipops. From Benaud to Qadir and Warne to Mushtaq, leg-spin was the only form of slow bowling that was considered an essential ingredient of a potent bowling unit. All that, however, changed with the emergence of a skinny young man from Lahore who not only reintroduced off-spin as a genuine threat but also added such artistry to his repertoire that his invention laid the foundation of ...
Read Full PostFlashback 2011: Pakistan in all its glory
Team Pakistan entered 2011 under the dark clouds of the spot-fixing scandal. With the backbone of their squad ripped apart as a result of the suspensions of Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif, and Salman Butt, few expected them to achieve anything significant in the next 12 months. However, as they often end up doing, Team Pakistan fought back magnificently and achieved a number of milestones. Here’s a look at some of the memorable events of the past year: 1. Series win in New Zealand Pakistan started the year with a closely fought series against New Zealand. Under alien conditions, Pakistan’s new squad showed tremendous determination to seal ...
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Do away with cricket controversies
I think we’ve all spoken at length about how boring Pakistan’s tour of the West Indies was. There was an absence of intensity. There were moments when it seemed an international duel was on show, as opposed to net practice, but for most part of the tour, both teams seemed to be going through the motions. My guess is that they were just warming up for the real challenge that was to follow. The mighty Irish were next The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) must have realised that the fans needed some real entertainment so right after the lackadaisical performance against the West Indies, ...
Read Full PostIndian Premier League: Six weeks of pure delight
The fourth season of the Indian Premier League – the most glamorous league of cricket – kicked off on Friday. The game went down to the wire and confirmed Dhoni’s reputation as one of the shrewdest captains in the world of cricket today. You gotta love the IPL IPL was the brain child of Lalit Modi, and was born out of the commercialisation of cricket. The club design was adopted from football, where it has been successful for decades, and is now making money for players and the sport alike. Although it is a domestic league, IPL promises to bring players from different ...
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You think cricket isn’t sexy?
My lack of exposure to “American” sports while growing up is never more apparent than when I’m at work. I’m surrounded by hardcore football, baseball, and basketball fans. Now, to be clear, I’m a sports fan. I no longer call it “American football”, and have had my heart broken by the Bears offensive line time and time again. I’ve cheered on the Bulls since I was a kid (D Rose for MVP!), but my sports of choice have always been soccer and cricket. So, while my colleagues are all about their brackets for March Madness, I’m streaming the cricket World Cup on my ...
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No more Butt and Butterfingers
As Ramiz Raja put it, though Shahid Afridi could not win the World Cup, for 30 days he united the nation. However, though we must unreservedly praise the performances of Team Pakistan, a few heads must roll to ensure that the strides we have made are capitalised to the fullest extent. Butt needs to go The system governing the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), effectively a one Butt show, has to be revamped. The PCB needs a much more effective, efficient and vibrant administrator – someone who is in touch with modern day cricket – to govern the way the game is played ...
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We don’t have cricket in America
My first day in Karachi coincided with the biggest cricket match that Pakistan has experienced in decades. Picture this: The Express Tribune web room awash with young, energetic staff wearing emerald jerseys over jeans and shalwar kameez, hurriedly filing stories so they can rush off to their government-sanctioned cricket holiday. They’ve all got one eye on the tiny TV mounted at the ceiling, not wanting to miss the toss when the bumbling, jet-lagged American, slips behind a desk and says in a deep-fried drawl: “Yey y’all, what’s this cricket thing about?” A marvelous way to endear myself to my brand new co-workers, isn’t ...
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