T20I: Team Pakistan wins hearts

“My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains

My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk.”

These lines by John Keats encapsulate the emotions in Pakistan the day after the heart-breaking loss of the Pakistan team to Australia in the T20I semi-final. So near and yet so far.

If there is no more smashing of televisions and targeting of players, it is because viewers have evolved, but the main reason stems from the immense dedication of the players. They have returned to fans the joy of watching cricket. Their synergy, grit and camaraderie has melted the hearts of even the most bitter of Pakistani cricket viewers.

Contrast this to the lacklustre performance of talented players virtually handing over the game to their rivals amid whispers of match fixing. Post the match, amid the dismay of the woebegone players, some fans recalled Captain Wasim Akram’s ear-splitting grin during the interview with former England captain and analyst Tony Grieg after losing to minnows Bangladesh during the 1999 World Cup in England.

“How could you lose to such a new team?”

“So what? They are our brothers!”

“Well, your next match is against Zimbabwe. I hope they are not your brothers!”

No wonder then, that in the aftermath of the defeat, Pakistani supporters outside the stadium were still chanting ‘Pakistan Zindabad!’ As the saying goes, “Just because I’m mad doesn’t mean I hate you.”

The Green shirts have made cricket popular again. And they did it with elan. Lest we forget, there was a whole generation which had grown up without seeing Pakistan ever beat India or holding aloft a championship trophy. A new Chief Executive Officer of the Pakistan Cricket Board, a cleaning of the stables, a cancelled tour before the first ball was played, another tour peremptorily called off, the team saw it all and entered the T20 tournament as underdogs, but they made everyone eat their words.

Despite the odds, they played like champions throughout the tournament. As journalist Simon Hughes put it, “Pakistan are the greatest asset world cricket has. Their cricketers are utterly compelling.”

Mohammad Rizwan proved to be as valuable as the trophy for Pakistan, because he defined the spirit of this team. Despite being in the ICU for two days and being hit on the face with a bouncer, he not only scored but also kept the wickets with a smile. One of the most wholesome scenes of the tempestuous match was a grinning diminutive Rizwan patting the huge Australian batsman Stoinis. Another was the potbellied Spiderman in the crowd with a salt and pepper beard.

When skipper Babar Azam addressed his teammates, he stood tall as a captain. He urged them not to fall apart or blame anyone. It is time for retired seniors, with blemished records and a penchant for forming cliques, to learn from their juniors who band together to protect each other instead of vilifying anyone. Insecurity has always sounded a death knell in the Pakistan dressing room.

The empathy of this team showed when Shadab signalled supportive gestures to Imad after his misfielding resulted in an expensive over and Shoaib Malik putting his hands around Hassan Ali after the vital flubbed catch.

Post the heart-breaking loss, Pakistanis tried to come to terms with returning empty handed after high hopes. One wondered when this generational trauma will end while Twitter user Hamza had a more upbeat take, “Now that I’ve had time to process, I am fully convinced that the Pakistan cricket team is on a sports anime protagonist arc where before a huge victory, there is an equally sad heartbreak that is necessary for character building. Trust me.”

Cricket is the glue that binds Pakistan together. There are no Sunnis, Shias, Sindhis, Punjabis, Baloch, Pathans, Hindus, Christians, PTI, PML or PPP when Team Pakistan is playing. A nation that is cheering on their team.

It would be fitting if the team can take Rudyard Kipling’s advice to heart.

“If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same…

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

You’ll be a Man, my son!”