Three Cheers for an Undependable Pakistan

Adil Najam

Sometimes I wish the Pakistan cricket team was more dependable. But then there are days when I am real glad it is not. Today was such a day.

A dependable team would, of course, have folded (again) in front of the mighty Australians. Pakistan is and has been in utter disarray. Much like the country, our cricket team is beset with internal divisions, riddled with scandals, and has an organizational infrastructure that is in shambles. Australia, on the other hand, is a picture of perfection. The team that every team wants to be. They are boasting seven consecutive Test wins – the last against a hapless Pakistan last week. But today was a very different story.

At stumps on the first day of the second Test match, Pakistan had sent the Australians packing for a measly 88 all out and then added 148 runs for three wickets. A lead already of 60 runs, with seven wickets in hand.

All accounts suggest that this was not Australia batting badly, it was Pakistan bowling really well. Nor was it just the pitch conditions at work, since Pakistan was then able to reach an already decent score. Barring weather, there would clearly be a result at the end of this game. But this is cricket. And this is Pakistan cricket. So, who knows, the Australians may still pull a rabbit out of the hat and make it eight Test wins in a row; but today – at least today – it was Pakistan all the way; and what a way it was!

So, here is at least one cricket fan cheering for unpredictability and undependability… even if that means that tomorrow Pakistan may turn the tables on itself, as it is so often prone to doing. If that is to be, then so be it. Today, we bask in the glory that is a sight to behold; even when it is as undependable and the men in green!