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Pakistan v India, Super Four, Asia Cup, Karachi
Mercurial Pakistan continue to confound
Osman Samiuddin in Karachi
July 2, 2008
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Younis Khan has been at the heart of Pakistan's last three big wins over
India and twice he has organised chases over 300
© AFP
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What is it that makes the Pakistani cricketer tick? In this sport, it is
among the most compelling questions, unanswered till now and probably
never to be fully resolved. If you didn't know any better you'd think,
from various results over the years, some strife, considerable friction
within the side, a run of bad results and a boggling glut of off-field
controversies spurs them on.
Pakistan had no business winning today and that too chasing 300-plus;
perhaps this is precisely why they won. They have been poor in this
tournament thus far, their bowling without sting, their batting uncertain.
The future of at least one from captain and coach has been on the line.
The latter has been intent on making matters worse for himself. The former
pulled out at the last minute, in typically tragi-comic circumstances
after a rare public announcement yesterday had confirmed his place in the
playing XI; not that he has been particularly inspirational. But it was in
the air yesterday at Pakistan's practice, this vague feeling that
something might happen, even with this depleted side. Nobody could really
articulate it, but it hung in the air.
It is a well-worn cliché, but Imran Khan was on to something when he spoke
of cornered tigers. This is not quite the same stage but Pakistan's
position in the tournament is as perilous. Their progress is still in
other hands: if India wins against Sri Lanka tomorrow, Pakistan are out. However, if India loses, Pakistan will go through to the final if they beat Bangladesh.
One thing that makes sense is that Younis Khan was at the centre of this
win, for he well represents Pakistan's mood swings. He is a difficult man
to decipher: brave, committed, but also impulsive and tempestuous, his
next move as difficult to predict as his last. One day he is magnificent,
the next as frustrating. One day he wants the captaincy, the next he
doesn't. But when he clicks Pakistan does too, as Misbah-ul-Haq pointed
out later. He has been at the heart of Pakistan's last three big wins over
India and twice he has organised chases over 300.
Significantly, a fresh debate will also begin now on Misbah's role. As
disenchantment grows with Shoaib Malik's leadership, eyes move to the
deputy and an emphatic triumph over India in trying circumstances is a
sure way to speed up and heat up the debate. It is unwise to judge
Misbah's leadership on one match alone, though understandably he was
elated. "I enjoyed it a lot. The pressure is always there as a
professional cricketer and you just have to face these difficulties."
And it was no surprise that the first question asked of him later,
mischievously, was what the future held for the man he replaced. "Malik
has performed well in this tournament and his place remains," Misbah
straight-batted back, albeit after everyone had their laugh. "He will keep
playing where he has played."
Though careful to say what was needed about Malik, Misbah said that he had
tried to change mood as well as tactics. "I just focused on certain
things. We were looking a little negative and I told the players to just
be positive. We played with a different strategy. We have kept wickets in
hand in previous matches and tried to up the tempo later, but this time we
changed that. We had two stroke-playing openers and I just told them to
play their own game."
More important than even what Misbah did as captain is what he did as
batsman. Tonight he did what he is meant to do, what he has been so close
to doing so many times before. He finished a match, even hitting the
winning runs. "It gave me great pleasure to do that," he said. "Sometimes
you get close but it doesn't happen, but when you don't do it, you
shouldn't take pressure from it. You just try and finish the next one.
Today was very good in that sense."
Today was very good, tomorrow it might not matter. Beyond the
morrow, some will begin to argue however, this result assumes greater
importance. But beyond even that, where the query as to what motivates
Pakistan on such days resides? That riddle we are no nearer to
unravelling.
Osman Samiuddin is Pakistan editor of Cricinfo
© Cricinfo
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