Well played India and Thank You Pakistan Cricket Team

Raza Habib Raja

I was 18 when Imran Khan, one of the most famous cricketers our country has produced, lifted the World Cup. In the room of my house where all of us were watching the match, some of the family members burst into tears. I felt euphoric and went outside to the nearby liberty market to witness what was unimaginable level of fervor and joy. People were dancing and performing Bhangra. The streets which had been almost deserted during the match, as everyone was in front of the TV sets, had suddenly become overwhelmingly alive. For those brief moments, from Karachi to mountainous area of Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan had become one. Everyone was cheering and there was an overarching feeling of unity. Those scenes have become imprinted in memory and in fact whenever we feel low, we try to recall those moments to assure ourselves that we have the potential and can do it again.

 The way this cricket team played during the tournament only increased the expectations. The team, which had been marred by several disgraceful scandals and therefore completely written off before the tournament began, started to play dazzling cricket under their mercurial all rounder captain Shahid Afridi. With every victory the level of expectation increased and when it became evident, that Pakistan would be playing their arch rivals India, it transcended the domain of normality.

Now with this defeat, to some extent the sapping of joy is understandable. We do have the tendency to expect a lot from cricketers. It is one sport which is so deeply rooted in the national psyche. And everything which happens on the cricket field affects the national mood. After the defeat when I went out, virtually the streets were deserted and there was a dominant feeling of despair.

We are a nation desperately starved of good news and have a tendency to elevate a thing to humongous proportions in terms of expectations when there is a sniff. But more than expectation, we tend to simply assume that sniff of victory will always materialize in victory and that victory will inturn help us in other myriad problems.

This kind of attitude needs to change because it is ok to love cricket but there is a difference between loving it and elevating the performance of cricket team to a matter of national honour.

There is line which we have tendency to overstep and in doing so may fail to appreciate how good this team has played during its bid for the World Cup. For one month this team performed against the odds and played spectacular cricket. Performance was at times sloppy, at times ill disciplined and most of the time uncoordinated brilliance punctuated with typical unpredictability.  

Sometimes I wish we were more disciplined but then Pakistani team is so exciting without it!

This team, more than any other team surprised everyone, and created a strange collective patriotic fervour, from which one just could not insulate oneself. The outstretched hands of their inspiring captain after taking every wicket created an impression that perhaps will never go livid from the memories.

Yes Pakistan has been defeated and defeated by a much better team. In our patriotic zeal we completely overlooked the fact that this Indian team is extraordinary. I have followed cricket since my childhood but have never seen such an awesome Indian unit.

 But at the same time I would like to express my gratitude to Pakistan’s cricket team for dazzling us and for uniting us. For this past one month, Pakistan was one and Shahid Afridi and his talented team deserve appreciation for that.

And yes, Shahid Afridi did not need to apologize to the nation. It is us who need to manage our expectations.

 India and Sri Lanka deserved to play the final and my best wishes are with them. May the better team win!

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