Defeat but piercing and biting

In each match be it cricket, hockey, football, or even kabbadi, for that matter, just one and one of the two teams wins and not both so from that point of view in cricket T-20, 3 matches series between Pakistan & India either Pakistan or India will win and not both is quite but natural and therefore there is no room whatsoever for anyone to dispute the eternal laws of the game.

Yesterday 25^th December, 2012 Pakistan played its 1^st T-20 match against India in Banglore, India wherein Pakistan has humiliated and not just defeated India for certain cogent reasons. India scored 133 runs for the loss of 9 wickets while they batted first as Pakistan won the toss but our captain Hafeez opted to field instead and invited Dhoni to bat 1^st so now Pakistan was given the task to score 134 runs within 20 overs if it wants to win the game and this is what we have done to prove that we should not be taken light. Before I talk of the actual scores of the individual scores of the batsmen and bowlers it will be very befitting to talk about the atmosphere and ground realities which play very dominant role in any case. We should not forget that Pakistan and India are enemy countries as they have even fought two wars in 1965 and 1971 and from that point of time any match between the two countries is not less than a war itself and therefore it can be said with full confidence and conviction that the temperature is be too high when Pakistan plays against India play in any match but it is certainly very low when Pakistan faces Australia, England and South Africa etc for that matter. On the top of it Pakistan was playing before Indian crowd which in thousands will clap profusely when any Indian scores even a single run whereas just a very few Indian viewers will clap when a Pakistani hits a boundary so it very well proves what odds Pakistan had to face when it took ground in Banglore. Truly speaking Pakistani crowds too behave alike when India faces Pakistan so it is the mentality of sub-continent to react alike. Yesterday Indians were quite naturally under great pressure because they feared to be hooted if Pakistan defeats whereas Pakistanis were not at ease since they were playing against its arch enemy and that too at the host’s ground before mammoth home crowd but in the given situation what could the two teams do otherwise.

Now when we look at the score card we will realize that initially when Pakistan started batting it was facing an uphill task to overcome which must had troubled and puzzled not only the officials of Pakistan Cricket Board but players themselves also and on the face of it defeat was more prominent than victory but our players proved their strength and defeated India. Opening batsmen pair of Gautam Gambir and Ajinkya Rahane has given very solid start to India from the beginning and they had really scored at will and hit all around the ground till the score reached 77 when India’s 1^st wicket had fallen and it was Ajinkya who had to go back to pavilion as Umar Akmal made no mistake in taking a catch off Shahid Afridi bowling. Ajinkya though very much obviously relatively less experienced than his opening partner Gautham scored 41 runs facing 31 balls and achieved the scoring rate of 135.4 runs which included 5 boundaries and 1 sixer which was very good start and he did succeed in laying solid foundation for those batsmen who were to follow him. His opening partner Gautham really played very spectacular game and had scored 43 runs after playing 41 balls which is truly very good start from each and every angle and hence it was being presumed that when the two openers can give such a boosting start then what could be the problem for the rest of the team players not to touch the figure of 150 if not 160 within allotted 20 overs which was a realistic guess duly punctuated with facts and figures. India had very rightly hoped that its captain Dhoni who is a very well known runs getter indeed will play real captain innings and add very good runs to the total whereas Kohli and Singh too are not that behind their captain when it comes to scoring but surprisingly none of the three who are certified super star batsmen in any case from each and every angle could do anything whatsoever and people have realized that India’s fate is sealed. Dhoni scored just 1 while Kholi figure shows 9 and Singh netted another 10 runs. India which was as solid as 1 for 77 started sharply not gradually slumping down which clearly indicated that Indian batting is feeling the crunch of Pakistani bowlers as score showed 2 for 90, 3 for 103 and when it was 4 for 108 red light had been lit and Indian gurus had lost all the hopes to even reach 135 what to talk of 140 or 150 which not only Indian crowd but even captain Dhoni had thought of but it was nothing but day dream. Indian last pair was very much on the crease when India had scored 133 for the loss of 9 wickets which means that all the 11 players of the team have come to the crease and batted irrespective of their individual scores and then only India could post a target of 134 runs for Pakistan to win the 1^st T-20 otherwise the figure had been much less that what they eventually posted.

Nasir Jamshed and Ahmad Shehzad were sent in as opening pair to at least score as much as Indian pair scored so that it becomes easier for Pakistan to score 134 in limited 20 overs to win the game but my goodness what a disastrous start for Pakistan which I am sure not even Indians had thought of. Nasir who had faced 6 balls and scored just 2 runs was clean bowled, worst possible, by Kumar and Pakistan score card showed 2 for 1 which was unbelievable but fact is fact and we had to accept. Captain Hafeez could sense the precarious condition and hence he promoted himself and came at number 3 to face the onslaught of Indian bowlers and it paid back the divided. Hafeez who could have scored even 1 or 2 or 3 runs to open his account as we were dying on score but he instead shot a boundary to let Indians know that now none but captain if the team is in the ground with a bat and nit ball. However he needed someone to be on the other hand to keep the score ticking but as the bad had luck it Ahmad Shehzad was the next batsman to be declared out as Kumar had again slapped us and Ahmad individual score was 5 runs and Pakistan had scored only 11 runs so far. Umar Akmal who is very well known batsman was the next on the crease to play with his captain Hafeez and whole Pakistani nation was praying that he and captain must steer Pakistan out if dire trouble but wind was blowing too fast against Pakistan as Kumar proved to be too smart to out rightly  send back Umar Akmal even without opening his account so I need not explain what hell Pakistan was facing when its three star batsmen had gone back to pavilion and Pakistan had scored meager 12 runs in total. One can imagine how much Pakistanis’ hearts were sunk deep in grief and sorrow when Pakistan had to score 134 runs and it three known batsmen were already back to the dressing room. It needed nothing less than lion’s heart on the part of Pakistanis to fight back with Indian players who were fully supported by their compatriots as their shouts and clapping were going as high as sky and honestly speaking Indians had earned the right to be so jubilant at seeing Pakistan 2 for 11. One could very well see glowing faces of Indians who were already dancing in advance anticipating Indian victory and they were right at that point of time unless I am biased and prejudiced which I am not for sure. Now Pakistan gambled with Shoaib Malik who is former captain too to join his captain and play his real role more as a survivor than just a batsman. Touch wood, he really played very convincingly and he hammered 3 sixes including the last one which gave us victory while thrice he touched boundary wall as well as he scored as many as 50 runs giving full support to Hafeez who on the other hand had taken Indian bowlers to sword as he netted 61 runs from 44 balls only which included 6 boundaries and two towering sixes. Pakistan score at 4 for 118 very clearly meant that the victory which was once at least very much obscured if not impossible was very much in sight. It must be kept in mind that whole Indian team where each and every player has played could score 133 at the loss of 9 wickets in complete 20 overs whereas in case of Pakistan on one hand we not only scored 134 runs for the loss of just 5 players and not 9 players but also on the other hand our players scored in 19.4 balls which showed our batting scoring are at 6.81 whereas Indian earned it at 6.65. Hafeez being the top scorer has earned the honor of being Man-of-the-Match which he very rightly deserved in any case.

Please say on your honor if you want to oppose me when I say that we ‘Defeated but piercing and biting’