From pretenders to contenders: Pakistan's roller-coaster odyssey in the 2022 T20 World Cup
In the lead-up to the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup, had you told anyone that Pakistan would be playing in the final of the tournament, most oddsmakers would have walked off your comments.
The Pakistani white-ball team entered the gala event on the back of zero wins in the shortest format of the game in Australia. Their poor record continued after a heartbreaking loss against India, courtesy of some heroics from Virat Kohli.
The next match turned into a bottle-job embarrassment as Pakistan were beaten by Zimbabwe. Pakistan's two best batters, aka their openers, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan were off form while Shaheen Afridi was yet to get back to his best. Things appeared to be slipping away for the Men in Green.
Harsha Bhogle, one of the most observant commentators in the game, had said something rather interesting before the tournament. Bhogle, with his typically wit-embraced wisdom-rich words, had said that Pakistan is the most dangerous said at its lowest. He said it is when you write them off, they will come back to haunt you.
The statement became a bit of a prophecy as Pakistan turned things around with great rigor. Written off by the most optimistic fans after their Zimbabwe defeat, the Men in Green played some of their best cricket and had some rub of the green go their way to qualify from the group stages.
Their first win on Australian soil came with a neat win against The Netherlands. Pakistan then made a definitive statement by beating South Africa, who were not only unbeaten until then but had also humbled the mighty Indian side in their previous game.
Their game against Bangladesh became a virtual quarterfinal. Pakistan rose to the challenge as they kept their calm to get the better of their South Asian neighbor.
They were tasked with the challenge of beating table-toppers New Zealand in the semifinals. The Kiwis, who had already beaten teams like Australia, were flying high. However, Pakistan made a short job of the match with a brilliant all-round performance.
The final was an exciting affair as Pakistan eventually bowed down to England but had their star bowler Shaheen Afridi not limped off in the crucial stages, things could have been very different in Melbourne.
Pakistan will return from Australia with plenty of positives. Shadab Khan's Midas touch, Shaheen Afridi showing glimpses of him being back to his best, the middle order stepping up, and fielding improvement across the unit are a few moments of great significance.
Pakistan can hold their heads high after making it to the finals considering the start to the tournament and overall record in Australia, which - as described by Gideon Haigh - is akin to a Lazarus-with-a-triple-bypass act that not only speaks volumes to this squad's laudable tenacity to bounce back but also serves as a reminder of why you should never write off Pakistan.