The first lifeline that South Africa handed to Pakistan in this T20 World Cup was in their Sydney clash last week. Kagiso Rabada surprised Iftikhar Ahmed with a delivery that climbed and cut sharply into him. Iftikhar couldn’t prevent it from pinging his glove and ballooning in the air, but a diving Quinton de Kock could not hold onto the difficult chance. Had he done so, Pakistan would have been 43 for 5, and their campaign could have been over, then and there.
Last-ball defeats to India and Zimbabwe had put Pakistan in must-win territory for every remaining game last month itself. And yet another top-order failure against South Africa had seemed to be the final nail in the coffin. But Iftikhar survived, and prospered. Pakistan lost only one more wicket over the next 12 overs, as Iftikhar and Shadab Khan propelled them to 185, well above par. It proved way beyond South Africa, who then went ahead and handed Pakistan a second lifeline on Sunday, with a shockingly comprehensive capitulation to Netherlands.
Over the decades, cornered Pakistan sides have habitually conjured magic out of far flimsier invitations. Here, the citadel’s door had been unlocked from inside, and Pakistan only had to jolt it open with one firm push. They did that with ease in the end, brushing aside Bangladesh by five wickets and 11 deliveries to spare at Adelaide Oval to march into the semi-finals at South Africa’s expense.
As he walked out ahead of the toss, Pakistan captain Babar Azam raised his hand and smiled warmly – surely some of the warmth reflected his gratitude – at the victorious Netherlands unit that was leaving the arena. Their veteran batsman Tom Cooper shouted, “Now make sure you win, so that we finish fourth (in Group 2).”
That would guarantee Netherlands a direct spot in the 2024 T20 World Cup, but Pakistan already had more than enough motivation. Having endured a never-ending volley of criticism from former players and fans about their selection, their approach, their temperament and what not since the loss to India, here they were, still very much alive, their destiny now in their own hands.
Whatever could have gone wrong against India and Zimbabwe, had indeed gone wrong. Against Bangladesh, it all fell into place. In the third over, Litton Das, who’d sparkled against India until he was run out, guided Shaheen Shah Afridi straight to backward point. The placement of that man was crucial. He was several metres inside the inner ring. Had he been on the edge, as is the convention, the ball might have begun to die on him.
But Najmul Hossain Shanto and Soumya Sarkar would dig in on the sluggish pitch. Pakistan kept the left-arm spin of Mohammad Nawaz away from the two left-handers, and turned to the part-time off-spin of Iftikhar. Still, Bangladesh built themselves a solid platform of 70 for 1 by the halfway stage.
Enter who else but Shadab Khan, the man who had broken the back of the South African chase with two big wickets in three balls. Sarkar reverse-swept, again straight to backward point, and again to Masood, who timed his jump perfectly. Again, Masood was several metres in, and the rising ball would have likely achieved enough elevation to clear him had he been on the edge of the ring. When it has to happen, it really does happen.
Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan was given leg-before for a golden duck next ball. It was one thing that umpire Adrian Holdstock did not notice the thin inside edge; astonishingly third umpire Langton Rusere surmised that the spike on the noise-meter was bat hitting ground and not ball shaving bat, whereas bat was not touching ground when the spike occurred.
Blood had been smelt, though, and Pakistan closed in. Iftikhar lured Shanto out to the death rattle of the flighted bait slipping past and hitting off stump. Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah’s pace and wide lines were unhittable for the Bangladeshis, as were their sudden denials of pace. Afridi, under the scanner all tournament, still hadn’t regained all his pace, but did nail his full deliveries and yorkers, even finding some movement with the old ball to pick up 4 for 22. All remaining oxygen had been snuffed out of the Bangladesh innings, which subsided to 127 for 8.
The under-fire partnership of Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam finally did what it had done all year in the run-up to the tournament – it lasted until the halfway stage, until a palpably out-of-touch Azam got out. The start meant Pakistan would be home with a hint of a flourish from the middle order, and the impressive Mohammad Haris provided that. Able to time the ball even on this spongy putty, Haris smoked a couple of sixes to extinguish Bangladesh’s last glimmer with his 31 off 18. The reliable Shan Masood completed the formalites.
So thoroughly had Bangladesh been outplayed that it was hard to believe South Africa’s morning surrender had given them an equal chance of making the semis. And so clinically had Pakistan seized their chance that it was hard to believe the same team had messed up a chase of just 131 against Zimbabwe, and had been a wicket or two away against South Africa from taking the flight back home.
The predictions about the Pakistan batting line-up’s unsuitability to these conditions of pace and bounce had reached a crescendo after that Zimbabwe loss. But the side that had seemingly been assembled for UAE conditions is now in the semi-finals, with the unintended assistance of South Africa, the side that was seemingly made for Australian conditions. No one, including Pakistan themselves, has any clue who writes Pakistan’s scripts, and may it long remain that way.
Pakistan players celebrate after the T20 World Cup cricket match against Bangladesh in Adelaide, Australia, Sunday, Nov. 6, 2022. (AP Photo/James Elsby) 
Share
