Story of an unlived dream

Hasan Ali was devastated. He had tears in his eyes. Shaheen Shah Afridi was sitting on the ground, wondering how it could all go so wrong, on the night where it felt right, in the matter of just minutes.

The electrifying crowd in the stadium had gone silent. There were tears in the eyes of youngsters sitting in the stands. They could hardly believe it.

It all started with Shaheen coming on to bowl the penultimate over with 22 runs required.

The left-arm pacer bowled a slow delivery into the pitch that Australia’s Marcus Stoinis edged, but it did not carry to the wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan.

The right-handed batsman managed to take a leg-bye off the second delivery. The 21-year-old ran in and tried to bowl a yorker on Matthew Wade’s pads, but he missed the line and it was wide.

He then bowled a full-ish delivery that angled into Wade, he hit it but couldn’t properly time it. Hasan ran in to take the catch but dropped it. Australians also ran a double. Everyone was stunned. One could feel that the fortunes have turned.

Aussies required 18 off nine balls. Shaheen once again went for a yorker, but Wade moved to his right and scooped it for a six.

The fast-bowler pulled back his length and rolled the fingers on the next delivery, which was deposited into the crowd. Shaheen once again went for a toe-crushing delivery and it was another scoop that wrapped up the game and ended Pakistan’s run in the tournament.

It was the first time that Pakistan fans were watching this bunch of boys down and out in the tournament.

Despite the disappointment of not making it to the final of the event, the masses did not forget their incredible run in the campaign. The players have been exemplary throughout the tournament.

They were disciplined and lethal on the field and off the field, they were friendly and humble.

Before the seventh edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup even began, everyone wrote this Pakistan team off.

They were underprepared — to say the least — largely because England and New Zealand cancelled their tours.

That development didn’t only halt the team’s preparation but it was also heartbreaking for the players who didn’t get to play in front of their home crowd.

But perhaps that’s what ignited the fire within this group as they roared back in the UAE. They thrashed arch-rivals India in the first match by 10 wickets. They broke the jinx in style. Rizwan and Babar remained not out on 79 and 68, respectively, while chasing 152 runs.

That was a very unlike-Pakistan performance. They were calm, collected on the field. There was no shouting, no sledging, no offensive gestures.

Rizwan and Babar just hugged each other, thanked the Almighty. When India’s captain Virat Kohli came for a handshake, Rizwan hugged him.

This side had not only won the contest convincingly, they also emerged as a bigger team, bigger in terms of pride. The world fell in love with their humility. The feat that they achieved was no ordinary, but they made it look like they have just won just another game.

Captain Babar went into the dressing room and told his players it was just the start of their campaign, do not get carried away, we need to continue this performance and should not repeat the mistakes that we have made in the past.

Then came New Zealand, that too in Sharjah. It was the same team who left the country citing ‘security concerns’ but never shared any information. It was the same bunch of players whose sudden departure put the future of the country’s cricket at stake, so it was natural to see the high emotions of the players as well as the crowd.

The Green Caps were on song once again. Their competent bowling attack restricted the Kiwis for a total of 134/8.

While chasing the target, Babar’s men had a few hiccups but they got over the line rather comfortably at a loss of five wickets.

The crowd was charged. They wanted to troll the Black Caps for dissing them by backing out of the historic tour just minutes before the start of the game.

As the encounter ended and the Pakistan team made their way back to the dressing room, the spectators started chanting ‘security, security’.

The skipper and his deputy Shadab Khan asked the crowd to not make such remarks. It was another sign from these gentlemen that indicated they do not hold any grudges against anyone. They were just there to play the sport they love. They were there to make their country proud. Everything else was just secondary to them.

Pakistan registered their third win of the campaign against Afghanistan, where they once again stood victorious by five wickets. The hero was Asif Ali, who struck four sixes in the penultimate over of the inning on the bowling of Karim Jannat.

For the first time in at least a decade, Pakistan looked like a unit with a purpose. The brand of cricket they were playing was very unlike them. They didn’t drop catches, they were intelligent with their batting and bowling.

The 2009 T20 World Champions had to defeat Namibia to confirm their qualification in the last-four and it proved to be a walk in the park.

The Green Caps posted a mammoth total on the board of 189 runs. In reply, the opponents, who had miraculously qualified for the final round, managed to score 145 runs.

As the match concluded, Pakistan players went to Namibia’s dressing room to appreciate their efforts, where they shared thoughts, smiles and moments to cherish. It was a kind act, to say the least.

Then came the fixture against Scotland. It was their last game of the Super 12s stage and once again, they posted a more than competitive total of 189 runs in their quota of 20 overs.

In reply, the Scottish team never really got going and managed to post just 117 for the loss of six wickets.

However, the real action came once the on-field action concluded. It was star pacer Haris Rauf’s birthday that day. After the game, Pakistan invited the whole Scotland team in their dressing room, where the Lahore Qalandars’ fast bowler cut the cake and fed it to his Scottish counterparts.

These players themselves served cake to the remaining members of the Scotland team. It was such a beautiful deed, something that the cricketing world has not probably witnessed ever before. It was refreshing, it was emotional.

These young men with some of their older contemporaries made the entire world their fan with their off-the-field behaviour and their impressive performance in the middle.

Pakistan became the talk of the town, probably for the first time. The ICC made videos for them. They were rated as the ultimate team to beat in the tournament. After ages, we saw such passion for the team in the country. Children were chanting Pakistan Zindabad in the streets. Women were making time to watch the game. People were flocking to markets to buy Pakistan jerseys. The scenes were incredible. The love was unmatched.

It was also mainly because of the team effort they put in. They had five different player of the match winners in five games. They gave the world new heroes in the shape of Asif Ali and Haris. Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez and Shadab also chipped in with handy performances. Babar was clinical with the bat. Fakhar Zaman and Rizwan shone in key situations.

The wicketkeeper-batter was in the Intensive Care Unit before the Australia game with a chest infection, but he gave it all in the contest. Something that shows his utmost dedication. The only visible weak link in Pakistan was Hasan Ali.

However, this time, the situation was different. Fans backed their players and refrained from abusing them. At least the majority of them. Even the fans learned it from the players, which was a rare and welcoming sight.

When Pakistan won, the fans were asking their fellows to remain calm and humble as their players were after winning five successive games.

When Pakistan lost the semi-final against Australia, the majority of the enthusiasts defended Hasan, who dropped a crucial catch and was off-colour throughout the tournament.

They replicated the words of skipper Babar, who requested his players not to blame anyone for anything, just support each other as they have achieved this atmosphere and unity in the dressing room after numerous challenges. It was heartening to see the senior pro, Malik consoling Hasan after he grassed one. Pakistan’s world cup campaign was just beautiful, though it was not perfect.

The world was singing their praises. The fate of Pakistan’s World Cup campaign was like a tragic end of a beautiful love story. A love story between fans and the team. A story full of rainbows and butterflies. However, a story of an unlived dream. The story ended with a hero falling. Falling with a lot of pride. Falling in such a fashion that it lifted the entire nation.