India-Pakistan tie a damp squib for the nostalgic fans
Sitting in the warmth of a cosy apartment in the small but beautiful city of Stirling, Scotland, shielded from the harsh and chilly winds of the ruthless storm Ali, one is the only one all excited about the India-Pakistan encounter. Surrounded and outnumbered by young Manchester United fans from India, who are eagerly awaiting 'their' team's 8 pm Champions League clash against Young Boys, one wondered how times had changed. A faint but harsh reminder of one's growing number of white hair crossed the mind. However, it was quickly overcome by the strong and pure love for cricket. The connection has remained strong, one assured himself.
The wait had been long. 459 days to be precise - since that heartbreaking defeat in the ICC Champions Trophy Final. It still hurt. Would it be a revenge match or another heartbreak, one wondered. Well, it's not the 90s, one had to explain himself. The build-up, the excitement, clearly, was not the same. But then again, why let your inner child die? It was India vs Pakistan after all. The mother of all ties in cricket.
Would Pakistan get the better of India, one thought? After all, India was playing at the Dubai International Stadium for only the second time, while UAE had been 'home' for Pakistan since 2009. Would Pakistan batsmen post a big total and the Indian batsmen be able to chase it or would Mohammad Amir and co wreak havoc once again? All these thoughts crossed one's mind only to be quashed a few hours later.
Amid comments such as dull and boring, questioning the point of playing and watching 50-over cricket, one tried to justify and explain to others, and perhaps to himself, the unpredictability of the Pakistan team and to expect anything from them, secretly hoping that things would get interesting at any given moment.
A perfect moment or an excuse to be nostalgic was perhaps too much to ask for or too foolish to expect. Ever since winning the Champions Trophy, this Pakistan side had only won the ODI series against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, and just the two matches against minnows Hong Kong and Afghanistan in the ongoing Asia Cup.
The spineless batting performance by Pakistan against India, full of some rash and irresponsible shots, especially when the situation demanded their batsmen to stay put at the crease, was indicative of the lack of experience of some of their batsmen of playing the 50-over format.
More importantly, their shot selection and temperament exposed the dangers of playing too much T20 cricket. With an out-of-form Mohammad Amir leading their pace attack, even their bowlers did not have much of a chance of defending a low total against the top-quality batting line-up of India.
While Pakistan's top-order showed some promise against Afghanistan, their middle order continues to remain an issue for the team, with only the experienced Shoaib Malik showing some signs of good form.
One can only hope that come Sunday, a different Pakistani team will take the field, giving the young 'old' nostalgic fans something to cheer about.