Adil Najam
UPDATE:
India won the TwentyTwenty final in a thriller, after setting Pakistan 158 to win and then bowling Pakistan out (with three balls to spare) for 152. IK Pathan from India was names Man of the Match for very tidy bowling (3/16 from 4 overs) while Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi was named Man of the Series.
ORIGINAL POST:
I have resisted writing about the Twenty20 Cricket Tournament in South Africa till now. But now I can resist no more. All is set for a thriller final game against India.
What more could one ask for… well, actually, one could ask for Pakistan’s TwentyTwenty winning streak to continue into the Final game against India in Johannesburg on Monday!
Pakistan is on a roll. And this is no fluke. The victories against Australia and Sri Lanka were brilliant and breezing past New Zealand in the semi-final today proved that this is not just a lucky streak.
The young team under a young captain and a new coach seems to have finally found its stride. And it is about time…
Much of our cricket coverage this last year has been depressing. Umpire controversies, a disastrous World Cup Exit, death of a coach, players misbehaving, and more. So, this good news is very welcome. It is all the more welcome because other news these days is much less than welcome.
India, too, has had a spectacular T20 tournament. In fact, the most memorable moments of the tournament till now were the 6 sixes in an over by Yuvraj against England.
That the game between India and Pakistan in the T20 tournament had ended in a tie will make the anticipation about the final even more nail-biting.
Neither team goes in as favorites. Both go in on a roll. Its should be one great game!
Don’t jump on Malik.
This is issue with our society, that we are not exposed to diversity. Also minorities mostly live in remote villages, so in cities majorities of Pakistanies have not even meet face-to-face with person from minority. I don’t remember any TV drama or film, in which we have some character belonging to a minority group in Pakistan.
We need to tell our guys that they exist and should try to bring them in main stream life.
Bad luck that Pakistan lost, guys. As somebody said above, atleast it was a chance to bring some happiness in otherwise gloomy life haan!!
I am indian and I like pakistani team on various occasions because they are good players. It was a great match but I couldn’t understand what Sohaib was saying during post match ceremony. Why bring religion into sports. You have already seen what it does when religion is brought in politics. Why say that sicne it is holy ramadan Pakistan would win. Defeats me man.
Although I appreciate the Pakistani side for the competitive spirit it displayed, Malik’s childish statement that dragged religion in sport, was to say the least, shocking. Parallels have been drawn in this blog; that of the Irish captain mentioning the St. Patrick’s Day on the day it defeated Pakistan in WC ’07, but that both incidents are as different as chalk is from cheese. Invoking religion and singling out a particular community smacks of fanaticism whereas mentioning a festive occasion on a day of victory is something else. Pakistani bloggers have also attempted to equate situations – a Pakistani Hindu (Kaneria) & an Indian Muslim (Pathan) but what they forget is that a Kaneria or a Dalpat is just a one-off case, whereas we have had Muslims in the Indian cricket team at any given point of time. Azharuddin, Tiger Pataudi, Abid Ali, all have captained India – can we get one equivalent Pakistani example here? Poor Yousef Youhana had to forgo his faith in the hope of leading Pakistan, but alas, that was not to be.
Whether its liked or not, the fact remains that in the sporting arena, especially cricket, India has now emerged as a much stronger force than its trans-Indus neighbour & its about time, all Pakistanis acknowledged this fact. No one – Allah, God, Buddha or Bhagwan can alter this fact. For once, we can forget petty differences of faith and religion and stand up to applaud the WC Champions – India.
Great that our two countries made it possible to play eachother in a world Cup final with fresh faces. Long may it stay like that. To come back from the worldcup fiasco, so soon, is not an accident. Talent has been smothered in both Pakistan and in India for too long.Well done Pakistan. Well done India.
I am sure that the Pakistan Captain meant well during the presentation, even though the words came out in the same fashion as his batting order. As an Indian, I hope he sorts his words out before the batting order!
Well said Ravi. It was a stupid statement … without much thought and thats it.
Pakistan has done well. India has done even better. Lets have peace as two great South Asian neighbors… as we were originally supposed to be.