Whether you’re an optimist, pessimist, realist, etc, the third match of the ongoing Tri-Nation Series in Pakistan provided a takeaway for everyone. You want the good news, bad news, qudrat ka nizam news, bad news in a good way, good news in a bad way or all of the above? Think of this match as a general store that has everything you need.
Take your pick.
In successfully chasing down the highest total in ODI for Pakistan, the green shirts also offered up a whole smorgasbord of takeaways for the roughly 240 million armchair cricket experts whose single-minded fascination for the sport and its players can best be summed up by the song Every Breathe You Take
Without further ado, here is a smattering of key takeaways from the 3rd match between Pakistan and South Africa, which was also a virtual semi-final with the Kiwis already in the final.
Fakhar Zaman seems to have found his mojo. Following up his 84 with another quick-fire 40-odd, it’s safe to say that, while Saim Ayub will be missed, his replacement seems to be finding his stride just at the right time. There’s always a sign of Zaman in good form when he takes on good-length balls and just boshes them with an understated swagger.
The record fourth-wicket stand of 260 between Rizwan and Salman, was the highest ever against South Africa. Salman Ali Agha hit his maiden ton and he seems back amongst the runs. Rizwan is playing through the cramps and hitting sixes for fun.
Babar is close to becoming the fastest player to reach 6000 ODI runs, while Shaheen Afridi seems to have found his early overs wicket-taking rhythm. His speed also seems to have improved.
More importantly, Pakistan is back to winning ways before the start of the Champions Trophy
Teams are scoring 300-plus runs against a team that was once feared for its bowling lineup. Someone needs to gift Naseem Shah a wicket because he’s too nice and good-looking to snatch it from anyone. Abrar needs to go back to wearing glasses because his cluelessness is irritating.
And Babar Azam continues to find form and then loses it, like a ballpoint pen that you can’t find when you need it most. But…
Even when he seems set, Babar Azam seems to find the most innocuous and harmless balls to get out to. The believer in us feels that he’s saving his best for something huge. There’s no other explanation for it.
Kudos to the ground staff for making such beautiful pitches that are so fun for viewers to watch all those sixes and fours being hit. Imagine how boring it would’ve been for the spectators if batters from both teams couldn’t handle seaming and turning tracks. That would’ve made other teams reluctant to visit us and we’d have had to switch back to the UAE as our home base. We don’t want that, we’re friendly people. Come one, come all, and score as many runs as you can!
Pakistan is traditionally a bad starter. For us to have any chance of winning the Champions Trophy, we needed to lose all Tri-Series matches, even a couple to unexpected snow in Karachi or a pitch invasion.
Pakistan is generally a very hospitable host, allowing all out-of-form players to rediscover their touch. Making the Proteas lose was not the hospitable thing to do. Why did Rizwan and Salman have to be so selfish? Now the rest of our batting lineup will be out of form through no fault of their own.
About the Author: Muhammad Ali Bandial is an award-winning author and an avid cricket fan. He has written for Forbes, Khaleej Times, Plot Twist Media, and Collider.