So What If Pakistan Lost?

In a country where animals are more safe than humans, what resides in a World Cup win? So what if Pak lost? Winning and losing are both part of the game. Losing in fact is more part of the game than winning because nothing fails like success. You don't learn from success, you learn only from failure. The Pakistan cricket team is great because it doesn't learn either way. It has its own ways of learning, better known to themselves!

One just fails to understand that why our cricket-crazy public is fuming after our heroes QF exit from the World Cup. Defeats are nothing new to us. We are used to regular setbacks. Isn't it enough that we have already won two World Cups in International cricket? We also reached the final of 1999 World Cup. Blind Cricket Team and Under-15/19 Team World Cup triumphs are in addition to that. Moreover, as a nation we are also too good at in relating any current shit to any previous shit that happened at any point of time in the past! Like in 92 birds used to fly and so as in 2015!! Even the birds are not aware of this. Trust me, rest of the world can never come up with such kind of trivia with ingenious resemblances which we can come up with. So mere winning WC is nothing. One should have such qualities. Also, it is good that Pakistan lost this time as we should also give other teams a chance to try their luck especially South Africa and New Zealand. It will be a violation of human (thinking) rights if we always keep thinking that we should be winning. Even if we are not part of Big 3, we should always take care of other team's feelings and emotions! Afterall, out of 14 teams conresting in WC, there could inly be one winner and 13 other teams have to return without the winners trophy.

In 1999 WC, we lost to Bangladesh, which helped them to gain Test status. See what an eternal reward we are getting. Bangladeshi women pray for our country and cricketers first, before praying for their country and themselves! Isn't it great? Now we lost to Australia after all they are in-laws of one of our national hero. So can't we do such a small favor to him this time? Don't you remember those two balls that he bowled in 92 Final? So, can't you do this much for him?

There is no charm in winning; the charm is only in having players with great potential in the team. So what if our batsmen didn't click at the right time? Even the best of computer mouse' sometimes doesn't click when you need it the most especially one of those ocassions when your Dad makes a surprise visit to your room or your boss to your office cabin? :D Isn't it enough that Pakistan has players like Shahid Afridi Boom Boom. Not only he can score nothing in crucial matches but he can do that with more than 100% strike rate. So forget the World Cup. It's nothing; we had Afridi and the rest of the world can only dream of another one like him ever. After all, strike rate, aggression, looks and taking selfies are more important than winning. A team can take more headlines, in having the boom boom, in the world media than by winning the World Cup. All bowlers in the world fear him and respect him, off the pitch. Isn't that great?

We no longer need Misbah-ul-Haq. He is a pathetic batsman and captain. He plays too slow. He is coward too. We need Afridi. He bleeds aggression and leaves footmarks of aggression on the field and pitch everywhere he walks. He never consumes too many balls. Misbah scores 34 in 58 balls; Afridi scores a 23 off 21 balls and leaves the crease without consuming anyfurther balls. Misbah always does the expected i.e the Tuk Tuk. While Afridi always does the unexpected i.e expecting that he will shine. So Misbah should be sacked before he himself retires from ODI's.

One feels sorry for Younis Khan, Nasir Jameshed and Yasir Shah for not having their complete and utmost part in Pakistan's defeat and the QF exit. They must be very much disappointed a team is to consist of 11 players and not 14. But they must have enjoyed their eight-week leisure trip. Let us hope they will be part of the team's next defeat!

Grant Flower is a great coach. Forget Miandad or Zaheer Abbas or any other batting legend as a Coach. Flower is better. Ever since he was appointed as coach, other teams bowling’ performance against Pakistan is getting better and better. Isn't a positive sign? We should not always think of our team. Other teams also play to bowl and win. We have already won too many matches. Excess of good in batting, fielding and winning is bad. So why worry? Our team has achieved something which other teams can't even think of. Others win with so many overs to spare. We lose with so many overs to spare. We don't play full quota of overs because we do not believe in the adage that haste makes waste! It's always better earlier than late because if we ourselves batted full quota of overs with enough wickets in hand, the other side might lose. And that's not fair! We cannot afford to put others at risk for our sake. Somtimes I wonder, why as a nation we do not appreciate the things we are good at and ignore the ones we are bad at? Like we are very good at losing and very bad at winning. So why can't just we ignore the idea of winning and admit this fact? Life is not just always about winning. Cricket teaches self-sacrifice and you know that we never miss the chance to learn. And lose! So, tell me, so what if Pakistan lost?

Most consececutive Tests with 50s from captaincy debut

Misbah's joins the elite club

On January 17, 2011 during the third day's play of the 2nd Test against New Zealand at Wellington, Pakistan's captain Misbah-ul-Haq became only the fifth Pakistani batsman to score fifty or more runs in five or more successive Test innings. He is also the 2nd Pakistani captain to achieve this feat after Inzamma-ul-Haq. Misbah still has one innings left in this Test match and he has the chance to equal the joint Pakistani record of Asian Bradman, Zaheer Abbas and Muhammad Yousuf, of six consecutive scores of fifty or more runs in sucessive innings. Although Misbah has just accumulated 238 runs in these five fifties but he is only man in the list who scored 100% of his runs in Test matches away from home. All other players scored most of thier runs during thier successive fifites at home. For the interest of the readers, the world record of most successive fify (or plus) scores is of 7 - jointly held by Everton Weeks, Andy Flower and Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

200 Runs on the last day to Draw a Test match and losing just one wicket

Pakistan became only the fourth team in the history of Test cricket to score at least 200 runs with the loss of no more than one wicket on the last day in the 4th innings of a Test match. They accumulated 234 runs for the loss of just one wicket which is the second highest total of runs by a side who just one wicket on the last day to draw the match. It was also the 2nd occasion among four instances below that the side started the last day of the match with overnight score already on scoreboard and drew the match losing just one wicket and in the process scored 200 or more runs. Here below is the complete list:

Highest 4th Innings Totals To Draw a Test Match

Pakistan's 343/3 today was the 19th instance of a team scoring 340 or more runs in the 4th innings to draw a Test match. It was the seventh instance when the batting in fourth innings had a deficit of 100 or more runs. Below is the complete list:

Razzaq Gives The Kiss Of Life!

It was murder under lights at Abu Dhabi Stadium and the executioner was - a player of rare ability and a victim of wanton neglect - Abdur Razzaq. He launched a savage assault on the hapless Proteas bowlers which was seen to be believed.

The spirits of Ijaz Ahmed, Gilchrist, Jayasuriya, Klusener & Hussey coursed through Abu Dhabi Stadium on Sunday night to witness the life-time brutality ever executed on a cricket pitch. Pakistan cricket was reeling - they needed a miracle to survive & make a nation believe in themselves. Razzaq restored the missing impetus of Pak cricket: "single-minded determination to win - to try to the last limit within them” - & that is called “PAKISTANISM”

The manner in which Razzaq maltreated the South African bowlers, he is liable to be reported to Human Rights Commission for violating the rights of Botha, Tsotsobe, Peterson, Langeveldt and Morkel. One can exhaust superlatives: incredible, unbelievable, astonishing, amazing and mind-blowing to describe the knock but such an innings is played and witnessed once in a life-time. Surely, Pakistan cricket needs a BUTT-LESS environment to continue doing the miracles more often than once in a Blue moon!

So near and yet so far!

Almost 15 years and six months to the day, Misbah-ul-Haq took Pakistan within a hit of what could have their first title in a global event since Imran’s Tigers roared on the fateful evening of March 25, 1992. A paddle scoop broke hearts and sparked euphoria of millions on either side of the border. A match which Pakistan should have won easily was scripted in India’s favour by some poor stroke-play, wrong judgment and weak captaincy. Younis Khan, as often, led the demolition charge in favour of the opposition. First he dabbed to a cheeky single and ran-out his limping partner. Then gave a dolly to the Junior Pathan. What followed was a procession: Middle-order looked as they are desperate to catch first available flight home. Shoaib’s decision to send an all at sea Kamran Akmal at one down was beyond comprehension. Upon his turn, Malik could not place the ball anywhere except in Rohit Sharma’s hands and Afridi lived up to his reputation of playing senseless shots at crunch moments. At 77 for 6, Pakistan were down and out. But brilliant Misbah at the other end had already programmed the chase in his mind but he was running short of the partners. Needing just six of the last four balls, Misbah invented a shot that would haunt him for the life time. He would share something similar of what Lance Klusener had been contemplating since the Headingly semi-final in the 1999 World Cup – there were still few balls to go!. India turned out to be the deserving winners and Pakistan can take the solace that this was their first defeat on the field in the tournament, as earlier loss against India in Group match was decided on the bowl-out after the tie.

Misbah rues his luck as the Indians celebrate

In an event, where few had placed bets on national side’s reaching the finals, prior to the team’s arrival in South Africa, Pakistan can take many positives from the same. Apart from what is obvious one can now smell a hint of consistency in performance. Misbah and Tanvir have unleashed their priceless talents. Whereas Shahid Afridi found his tricks working with the leather and not the willow – for what he is usually known for. If he was to be chosen as the player of the tournament award for his batting displays, Pakistan would have been the ultimate winners.