Pakistan’s song of redemption: A look back at Pakistan’s test series against England
You don’t need a strategy class to figure out that rising to the top of ICC test rankings is not an overnight job. And now finally, Pakistan has etched past India to be the best team in the world! Digest this, a team that cannot even host test matches in its own backyard has triumphed against the team credited to be original masters of the game.
Pakistan has sent a strong message across the Cricketing circles. At the fear of sounding clichéd, you take the Cricket out of Pakistan, but not the Pakistani out of Cricket.
Had Pakistan not squared the series, nothing unusual would have happened. The Cricket tabloids would have proceeded as usual; the tour would have been dubbed as “Just another Pakistan Failure” and the English media would have as usual over-glorified their boys.
The determination of the Asian team would have been questioned again and numerous trolls about Pakistan’s incompetence would crop up on the social media platforms. Test Cricket would continue to be the least favourite format for Pakistani fans and so on.
But thankfully nothing of that sort happened, ask a neutral Cricket fan and he will tell you that he was rooting for Pakistan all along, the essence was the song of redemption for Pakistan. We all love the underdogs and that is why a lot of us wanted to see Pakistan go down fighting if not win.
And what a treat this series was! One for the ages!
The Perfect Start
Misbah-ul-Haq, Oh you sweet son of Pakistan! To quote the commentator, “42 years young!”, defiance thy name is Misbah. His first test on English soil, first test at the historic Lord’s and he wastes no time in getting his name onto the honor boards at Lord’s.
Misbah is no Afridi (Thank God for that), the flamboyance is nearly nil but the resilience is in truckloads. Jarrod Kimber nailed it when he said that people don’t come to watch Misbah play but he plays anyway.
Yasir Shah is a captain’s delight. Ask him to bowl from one end all day, and you can bet that his smile won’t fade away and neither would his commitment. The ten-wicket haul broke the English back. While the world focused on the return of Amir, Asaq Shafiq and Sarfaraz Ahmed proved that Pakistani youth was in with a firm mission this time.
A 4-4 Pakistan's win-loss record in Tests against England at Lord's; only Australia, with a 15-7 record, have done better here against England. No wonder, the team celebration was so animated. The poster of the whole team doing push-ups will surely be put up on almost every Cricket enthusiast wall back in Lahore.
The English bounce back
The second test saw inspired performances from the hosts. The loss at the mecca of Cricket had rubbed their egos. Captain Cook and the insanely talented Joe Root led the charge and posted a big total of 589.
Once again Misbah fought a lone battle, his team may not win so many matches but safe to say that Misbah has a Steve Waugh type of grit about him. Pakistan lost by a comprehensive margin, a whopping 330 runs. The fairytale run of 1st Test had now run its course and reality seemed to be taking over.
The third test was even a bitter defeat to taste for the Pakistani team. England administered the taste of tourist’s own medicine – The wonder art of Reverse swing. England left Pakistan to score 343 in 84 overs, a result that easily warranted a tie.
Sami Aslam finally looks the opener that Pakistan has been hunting for. Moeen Ali is making a habit of picking up key wickets (this time Azhar Ali) and he opened the floodgates. Fin and Woakes rampaged through the batting and England gain the lead, 2-1 it rested in favor of the hosts.
Pakistan gets Younified
There is absolutely no doubt that Younis Khan is a contemporary great and possibly amongst the all-time greats for Pakistan. His longevity alone in the highly unstable structure of Pakistan’s Cricket is a testimony to the fact. He had been a sleeping giant, the ageing elephant in the room. He is the critically acclaimed text which had seized to the bestseller anymore.
His unusual hop to block the deliveries had been the butt of so many jokes until now. The last test was the canvas for Younis to paint his story in legendary colors. It was cometh the hour for the middle order batsman and he did not disappoint.
Sohail picked a five for and England folded to respectable 328 thanks to late middle order consolidation by Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes. And as if by poetic justice, Younis led the reply for Pakistan. Asad Shafiq provided support from the other end as he too reached three figures.
After Asad perished, Younis made sure that he orchestrated the tail to make sure he reaches double century with a SIX(yes I repeat, a SIX, Virender Sehwag must have gone “Atta boy!”) and Pakistan amassed a daunting 542.
Younis dedicated this innings to Hanif Mohammad, a batsman of much the same temperament like him. Younis is not verbose, he lets his bat do the talking. The man who captained the World T20 triumph, the man who made a triple century the last time he was allowed to play at home, the same man had once again put Pakistan in front in the series.
Yasir and Wahab combined once again to ensure that England didn’t pull out any rabbits from the hats and made sure that they folded to 253. The Pakistani openers did the needful and song of redemption was complete. What a moment!
What this means for Pakistan?
Misbah has brought pragmatism, he may not be as inspirational as the great Imran Khan but he is studious. He is simple and direct and most importantly leads by example. This Pakistani team finally looks and acts like a team. Knowing Pakistani psyche, that is no mean feat to achieve.
Misbah is weaving a thread of cohesiveness in the Pakistani squad. Pakistan’s Cricket is about moments of greatness; it has never been about prolonged periods of dominance. Everything is “in-the-moment” in context to their Cricket. Maybe the number one test team ranking is just going to last a jiffy for Pakistan.
I am sure the deeply emotional Pakistan fans do not care about that. It would be most memorable jiffy for all they are concerned with. England took it with a pinch of salt. Pakistan, you never stop surprising!