e_Paper, Tuesday, June 20, 2017

14
TUESDAY, JUNE 20, 2017
DT
Opinion
The most deserving side won
Pakistan showed that anything is possible in cricket
it being his very first time as a
captain on such a big stage.
PCB put their trust in him by
conferring the captaincy, which
he repaid by taking the helm
proficiently.
After losing by a huge margin
to India in the very first game, it
was hard to move on to win all of
the next matches with a possibly
spirit-broken team. But this man
had faith in his team, the faith
was sheer power against their
opponents.
Pakistan never lost their cool
• Raihan Rahman Rafid
Pakistan started the
tournament with the
lowest team rank, but by
the end, this unpredictable
team took home the trophy as
champions winning against
their arch-rival India in the ICC
Champions Trophy final on June
18.
As the second biggest
tournament of ICC’s curtain
was raised, Australia, England,
and South Africa were the
teams expected to reach the
final with fan favourite India
to be considered too (for their
formidable batting line-up and
consistent performance).
Only a few might have named
Pakistan out of affection, even
former players from the country
didn’t think the new team
had what it took to become a
champion.
Pakistan in their first group
stage game against the title
defenders were almost toyed with
by India in a 124-run defeat. Blown
away were the hopes of fans, and
at stake was their survival in the
tournament.
But the plot soon changed, as
the results of Group B matches
proved to be unexpected with
India’s loss to Sri Lanka, not to
mention Pakistan upsetting South
Africa. No one could exactly
predict or guess which team would
qualify for the semi-finals from the
group.
Dramatically, Pakistan secured
their place with a nail-biting finish
against Sri Lanka.
On the other hand, the host
team England remained unbeaten
in their group and chased down a
target of 306 set by Bangladesh in
the first match. They defeated New
Zealand. Initially, they struggled
with the bat against Australia,
but proved their strength of the
middle order by winning the rainaffected
match.
Whereas their batting seemed
unstoppable, and Adil Rashid and
Woods being amongst the top
wicket-takers, none could even
imagine what was waiting for
them as the Group A champions
marched forward to face Pakistan
in the semi-final.
To everyone’s surprise, Pakistan
crushed the home side.
Batting has been Pakistan’s
weakness for a long time now.
But in the final, they batted
exceptionally well, attaining the
highest total scored in a final.
The so-called best batting side
was thwarted by possibly the
best bowling side, and Pakistan
for the first time clinched the
champion’s title after reaching the
semi-finals thrice in a total of eight
appearances.
Amir shows his strengths
Hafeez once said: “I can’t share the
dressing room with someone who
hurts my country’s integrity.”
Even players started to boycott
training sessions because of
Amir’s inclusion in the Pakistan
team. With a taunting history that
tarnished his career, Mohammad
Amir kept on regularly taking
wickets making himself a key
bowler in the team.
In the final, everyone knew
that 338 runs were within the
reach of India. The captain of the
opposition had a good record of
chasing big totals and winning
matches for his side. The opening
pair, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar
Dhawan, were in good form.
Dhawan had scored most runs
in the tournament. Coming into
the attack, Amir dismantled the
trio. His three wickets at the very
early stage of the match were
instrumental to the victory of
Pakistan.
He missed the semi-final, but
made sure that fans don’t forget
his contribution to the win. The
bowler also scored with the bat
in a match-winning partnership
against Sri Lanka. His exemplary
performance shows how a man
can write his own bright future,
fading away their dark past.
Other stars of the match
Hafeez was questioned for his
performance; the once top allrounder
of Pakistan cricket. He
was not quite lethal with his
bowling as he once used to be.
But he responded in the final with
his 57 off 37 balls that led to the
MD MANIK
massive total.
Overall, the pitch seemed
to have nothing to offer to the
bowlers, and became battingfriendly.
Still, very few bowlers
were able to produce magic with
the ball, and Hassan Ali was the
best among them. Hassan Ali
earned 13 wickets to his name and
was rightfully named the Player of
the Tournament.
The fabulous find
Had Pakistan not scored such a big
total, the scenario could have been
much different. Thanks to the
young Fakhar Zaman for scoring a
century in his first match against
India.
This wonder boy played his
first ICC tournament and went
on to score more and more runs
beautifully in the four games that
he played. His ordeal was to face
the big game, but he overwhelmed
his team with a match winning
performance of 114 runs off only
106 balls.
Fakhar was named the Player of
the Final.
O captain, my captain
Confidence always results in
success, boosting up your team’s
morale is important for any
captain, and the man who did that
job behind the wickets was none
other than Sarfraz Ahmed. With
the timely change of bowling in
every match, Sarfraz proved how
well he can lead his team despite
Pakistan’s team
effort helped them
write history at
Kennington Oval on
Sunday. Pakistan
proved once again
how beautiful the
game of cricket is
The genius behind the scenes
Last but not the least, how the
bowling coach Azhar Mahmood
influenced the bowlers was visible
in their performance. Former
Pakistani player Azhar had played
a good number of matches in
England, and his experience on
the grounds of London and Wales
added an advantage to the bowling
department.
Seamers didn’t disappoint their
sensei with noticeable reverse
swings.
Junaid, Azhar Ali, and others
contributed to the team and
played well throughout the
tournament. Pakistan won the
title undoubtedly as the most
deserving side. They also avenged
their only loss in the tournament
with a 180-run win.
Previously, Pakistan had lost
all three knockout matches that
were against India in an ICC event.
Pakistan’s team effort helped them
write history at Kennington Oval
on Sunday. Pakistan proved once
again how beautiful the game of
cricket is, and how any team can
make anything possible. •
Raihan Rahman Rafid is a freelance
contributor.