The world of sports abounds in tales of the unexpected. But few countries have such a penchant, indeed fetish, for accomplishing the impossible like Pakistan.

Some of their triumphs have bordered on phantasmagoria. Back in ODI 1992WC, it was rain that wrecked South Africa and gave the kiss of life to Pakistan. Then Imran Khan and company discovered Inzamam-ul-Haq, a rookie who batted with the calm of a monk and had the strokes of a master. Like a super jigsaw, everything fell into place in the final against England.

The improbable happened a second time in T20 WC2009. Then too, led by an unflappable Younis Khan, Pakistan emerged from a shaky start to peak at the right time. In the final at Lord’s, their batsmen dominated Lanka’s inscrutable 3Ms: Malinga, Muralitharan and (Ajantha) Mendis.

There is plenty of parallel between that unlikely victory and Sunday’s routing of India in the 2017 Champions Trophy final. The victories came at a time when Pakistan is wracked by a vicious and violent internal strife, at least partly of its own making.



The killings and the bomb blasts have made all foreign teams wary of visiting the country. In recent years, Pakistan has been forced to play its home Test series in the Middle East. It isn’t easy to sustain domestic cricket in such trying times.

The national cricket team has also been blighted by betting and spot-fixing controversies that have kept some of its major or fledgling stars out of the game for some years. Yet Pakistan has overcome such odds.

Despite the sorry state of its internal affairs, the country continues to produce one special player after another. Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Ali, Shadab Khan are such talents that Champions Trophy 2017 has thrown up before the cricket world. And the final was the ultimate redemption for Mohammad Amir, a gifted bowler who lost his way in the dark only to exorcise his demons and rule.

It would be fair to say that this is not one of the truly great teams of Pakistan. But it is equally true that the best teams always don’t win trophies. In 1982, Brazil did not lift the world football cup. They still say, it is the best team never to have lifted the coveted trophy.

In 1983, Kapil’s Devils won the ODI world cup. It wasn’t the best team in the tournament. It simply played the best cricket that fortnight. This is exactly what captain Sarfraz Ahmed’s boys did after being walloped by India in the group game and becoming the butt of a million digs and memes.

Every match they played thereafter was a knock-out game for them. They won every time. South Africa, Sri Lanka, England and, finally, firm foe India – all were swept aside.

Like an old radio, Pakistan took time to warm up. But once it did, it was unstoppable. It was, as if, something buried deep inside had been stirred and woken up.

Call it rhythm, call it self-belief, Pakistan found that elusive ingredient, and in the process, it even surprised itself. How do you explain a team that couldn’t bat, bowl or field against India a mere fortnight ago suddenly morphed into an all-conquering Bahubali?

Probably it would be more appropriate to read Pakistan cricket through the looking glass of art, rather than try to decode it via science and logic. Science prides itself in producing the same result with the same mix of ingredient. Art inhabits another universe and answers itself in an alternate language. In this cosmos, you are either inspired or insipid. That probably lies at the core of Pakistan’s cricket soul.

What about India? There’s plenty to write about captain Kohli and his million dollar boys too. But for the moment let us just celebrate beauty in unpredictability and the wonder that is Pakistan cricket.