Fakhar Zaman watches the ball take outside edge of his bat and settle into Dhoni’s gloves. That’s it. It is the end of Champions Trophy for him. He starts walking back to the pavilion thinking about how the Indians cramped him for room by bowling tight and then forced him to error.
But suddenly he is asked to stop. They are checking for a no-ball. It is a no ball. Zaman now starts walking in the opposite direction, towards the batting crease.
His dream debut series is not yet over. Not for the next 98 balls.
Azar Ali plays with soft hands, places it in the gap and behind the ball is Bumrah, not one of India’s best fielders. The single is certainly on and hence Azar sprints but then finds his partner still standing at the non-striker’s end.
Both batsmen stranded at the same end of the pitch and the fielder uprooting the stumps at the other end. This is such a common sight for Pakistani fans.
The partnership is broken, Pakistan gifts India the momentum and it looks to be the same old story. Only nine runs from the next three overs and now it is official that Pakistan has given away the advantage.
And suddenly the ball sails over long-on, the next one goes through the point region. There is a flurry of boundaries. 33 runs from next two overs.
Pakistan once again stands tall.
It is the famous Bumrah yorker. It is accurate, clinical and quick. It is too good for Hafeez as it beats his bat and pad to crash on the base of off stump. Bowled him!
But hang on, the stumps still are erect. The bail hasn’t come off. Hafeez survives.
Amir is breathing fire. He sends back Rohit and corners Kohli with his searing and angling pace bowling. And he wins the duel! He beats Kohli, finds his outside edge but the slip fielder drops the catch.
How big is this? Of all the players, it is King Kohli who has been dropped by Pakistan. Everyone wearing green looks down kicks the ground and rues the missed chance. Because they know Kohli doesn’t offer second chances. He makes his opponents pay.
But the very next ball, there is another edge and the ball once again flies in the air. But this time the man at point catches it safely. Amir does the unthinkable. He outclasses Kohli, world’s number one batsmen.
They all appeal, loud and clear but the Umpire turns it down. The young leg-spinner Shadab Khan gets one to hit Yuvraj’s pads. It is close but according to Umpire, not enough close.
But then Shabad literally fights with his captain. He is convinced, it is out and he forces his captain to get convinced that this is out. Sarfaraz reviews and the replay shows the ball hits the pad first.
The umpire raises his finger and Yuvraj walks back.
Also read: ICC Champions Trophy 2017: 5 biggest surprises from the tournament
This is Pakistan. The team that refused to give up, the team that denied to walk back. Pakistan didn't win the Champions Trophy, they snatched it from the fate, they robbed it from the face of stats and numbers.
The men in green aren’t always good, but when they are good, they become invincible. It is the no-ball, it is also the review and it is also some luck. But more than this it is the never-die attitude that won Pakistan the tournament.
How many bowlers have the courage to bowl to Kohli after watching the slip fielder drop a simple catch? How many batsmen have the will to stay positive after getting out on a no-ball and after playing a hand in partner’s run out?
This is Pakistan. In terms of skills and technique they are competitive but with the added mental strength, they are made up of steel, impossible to penetrate.
The turning point of Pakistan’s World Cup triumph in 1992 was Imran Khan’s motivational speech to his team at Perth. After losing four of their five matches, Imran walked to his team wearing a white T-shirt with a picture of a tiger on it and asked his team to ‘fight like cornered tigers’.
The fifteen-minute speech turned the tables around and as they say, the rest is history.
Sarfraz Ahmed in 2017 created the turning point for his team not by wearing a T-Shirt with a tiger on it and nor by saying some miraculous words. All he did was bat on the 22-yard strip.
Playing his heart out against Sri Lanka in a match that was a virtual quarter-final and with Pakistan on the verge of a defeat as they slipped to six down for 137 while chasing 237.
And this is when Sarfraz carved the motivation for his team. By guiding Amir to hold on to the other end, the skipper of Pakistan roared and roared loudly in the middle. There were dropped catches, poor deliveries, and sloppy fielding, but even then this innings from Sarfraz deserves respect.
Because he batted with caution and patience and played like a man possessed. And more importantly, he showed his teammates what he expected from them, the never die attitude.
And the team followed their captain. Fakhar made the most of his second chance, Shadab altered the fate, Hafeez played out of his skin and Amir bowled with the new ball as if his life was depended on it.
This is Pakistan. The team that wasn’t destined to win, the team that was never supposed to win and yet they went back with the trophy in their hands. Because they refused to give up.
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