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Book Report #1: Wounded Tiger

03 Sunday Dec 2017

Posted by niralihathi in Uncategorized

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AUSvPAK, Cricket, cwc2015, EngvPak, India, INDvPAK, INDvSL, ODI, Pakistan, PeterOborne, Sri Lanka, Test series, WorldCup2015

I had been looking for a new book for a while before I came across Wounded Tiger. My usual go-to reads are Dan Browns and Phillip Pullman novels. I love delving into an adventure with Robert Langdon and being absorbed by tales of mystery and secrets. For some reason however this time I felt the need for a change and followed my vacant clicks through Amazon in search for my next read.

Somehow I stumbled upon this book without realising it had been selected as Wisden’s Book of the Year 2015. The history of Pakistani cricket had always been of interest to me and somewhere along the way through these endless India v Sri Lanka matches I had dozed off. I had stopped watching games or following scores and it seemed like fate that I should come across this extraordinary tale to reignite my fire.

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I was born to bleed blue. There was no question about it and regardless of ones knowledge of partition or history, being Indian instantly means that you firstly love cricket and secondly support anyone BUT Pakistan. It had been drilled into me until that fabled (because I’m sure I’ve referred to it in over 5 of my previous blog posts) 2015 World Cup quarter-final between Australia and Pakistan where I somehow found myself unwittingly supporting Wahab Riaz and the men in green. I had gotten so emotionally invested that when Rahat Ali dropped Shane Watson on 6, I felt my heart sink. Apart from India, no other sports team had ever made me feel like their loss was my loss and this stuck with me for a while. It stayed with me and on July 17th 2016 I found myself once again in unwavering support of Pakistan on day 4 at Lords at the re-birth of Mohammed Amir. As Pakistan did their push-ups and salutes I once again found myself in awe of this incredibly dogged team.

It seems to me that somehow Pakistani cricket is destined to continue even if the world were to end. From a country younger than my parents, the team have survived a journey through terrorist attacks, match-fixing scandals, the mysterious death of coach Bob Woolmer, becoming nomads and countless accusations of ball-tampering and yet somehow have also produced some of the greatest players to grace the game. I needed to know how and why.

I have managed to ramble on for 400 words without once discussing the mastery of Peter Oborne’s book. I won’t give away the story, in fact this post can hardly be called a book report. My sole purpose for writing this is to try and make you read it. (You’re more than welcome to borrow my copy, but i’ll definitely be wanting it back).

I admit it was a challenging read for me. To digest the horrors of partition, it’s impact on both countries and the game and to try and comprehend the complexities of Pakistani cricket in it’s cultural and political context. I found it difficult to try and wrap my head around the extent to which external factors and deep-rooted prejudice and condescension has continually tried to keep cricket in Pakistan down, from the Rana-Gatting incident to the kidnapping of umpire Idris Baig by the touring MCC team.

However, Peter Oborne allowed me to travel with him on a journey not just through the history of cricket but a history of Pakistan through the lens of cricket. He narrated the stories of AH Kardar and Fazal Mahmood who helped shape not only the cricket team but the nation. He charted Pakistan’s first win in England and how it was orchestrated by a man who refused to let the political and social chaos of partition stop him from playing cricket. A man who could have been killed on a train were it not for the legendary Indian CK Nayudu who protected Fazal Mahmood from Hindu fanatics with his cricket bat.

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AH Kardar and Fazal Mahmood

It tells the story of how young boys were picked out of street games and thrown into an international team, of how Wasim Akram asked his captain how much money he would need to bring on tour not realising international cricketers were paid. It helps us comprehend an almost magical realism where a 12 year old plays first class cricket and a ball can be released at 100+ mph. The book wanders a bit in the middle but Wounded Tiger takes the story far beyond Imran Khan’s ‘cornered tigers’ and the heroics of the 1992 World Cup. It doesn’t just paint over the cracks or chisel out new ones, Wounded Tiger gives a full account of both glory and grievance of the team from their astounding victories to their bewildering defeats.

Wounded Tiger feels very unburdened given the extent to which Oborne covers an entire country’s past in under 600 pages. It intertwines fact with anecdotes to create a dynamic picture and continues to surprise and entice you to read just one more page. Oborne states that writing on Pakistan cricket “has sometimes fallen into the wrong hands . . . carried out by people who do not like Pakistan” and this book gives us a chance to revise how we see Pakistan through stories including that of the legendary Lala Amarnath who was born into a poor Hindu family in pre-partition Punjab and adopted by the Rana family who sponsored his cricket education in Lahore.

Unable to (with good reason) continue a straight narrative to cover such a vast history, Oborne adapts to a thematic approach to cover topics such as reverse swing, the emergence of women’s cricket, Shoaib Akhtar (aka the ‘rawalpindi express’), Misbah-ul-Haq and lastly Pakistan’s Age of Isolation. The post 9/11 era that has left Pakistan using homes from home.

This book covers it all, it delves into the introduction of the doosra, it covers the history, politics, war and geography of Pakistan, it exposes the opportunity costs of continued social ostracism from India and the terrorist attacks that have forced Pakistani cricket away from their rich and vibrant history and through a cast of heroes and villains allows us to try and better understand this nation under siege.

 

 

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The sun finally set for Pakistan.

18 Sunday Oct 2015

Posted by niralihathi in Uncategorized

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250, AbuDhabi, AdilRashid, Alastair Cook, Cricket, England, EngvPak, Pakistan, Wahab Riaz

Imagine a Test match where the first two innings racked up a grand total of 1121 runs and the third innings has not even begun by the morning of the fifth and final day. Now imagine that test falling just 25 runs short of a result due to poor lighting. Only such a Test could involve possibly one of the most interesting teams in cricket, Pakistan.

It was the first of three Tests between England and Pakistan and Abu Dhabi had produced possibly one of the most limp and lifeless pitches in recent times. Pakistan had not only failed the game, they had failed themselves. They had failed to back their bowlers. Failed to back the likes of Wahab Riaz who put on one of the most incredible pace bowling performances in recent history. The first four days of the Test came and went with two batsmen scoring 200+ runs each (with Cook scoring 250+) but nothing else happened. Once again Test cricket was clearly doing everything in its power to drive away the few fans it has left. Each wicket came at almost 70 runs apiece in the first four days and a result looked about as likely as dogs playing poker.

The fifth day had finally come and with a lead of 74 England finally declared. It was easy to assume Pakistan would play out the day and give their bowlers an hour max to have a whack at England when they had 150 on the board. However, this was not how the day played out.

The Gods had finally taken it into their own hands to produce a wicket for some exciting cricket. The almighty had come to reward England for their hard work and in particular, a debutante leg-spinner who had bowled his heart out in the first innings to no effect. Adil Rashid became the hero of the hour as he picked up five wickets in Pakistan’s second innings. Within 14 runs, Pakistan’s tail had fizzled out. Rashid had opened up the gates to the possibility of a victory as England only needed 99 runs to win the game.

The Test had finally come to life. The visitors had more than enough overs to make the total. It was the sun they were chasing. In a full-blown T20 style attack from the batsmen, England came within inches of the finishing line. Moeen Ali was joined by Jos Buttler to open the batting. They were going full steam ahead with boundaries right from the word ‘go’. Runs came and wickets fell. Joe Root, with some assistance from Ali and a smashing six from Jonny Bairstow off Wahab Riaz, took England as far as they could. England ended on 74-4 as the day came to close. A score which would look extremely poor from the outside, but not from inside the Sheikh Zayed Stadium. The score showed hope and belief. Something Pakistan will need for the coming Tests.

Two wins in 16 years. Three wins in one week.

24 Friday Apr 2015

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bangladesh, BANvPAK, Centurion, Cricket, Pakistan

Bangladesh finally proved themselves to be a formidable team at the ICC 2015 World Cup. They had made it through the group stages into the knockouts for the first time ever. Their performance in the World Cup did more than just entertain, it gave them some credibility as a side. Bangladesh were now a real team to play, a team to beat.

With their new credibility came new challenges. The first of which was a home series against Pakistan. Three ODIs, one T20 and two Test matches. Bangladesh’s last win in an ODI against Pakistan came sixteen years ago and since then Pakistan had not lost once. Until now.

The series was always going to be a challenge for Pakistan. Bangladesh were coming into the series off their World Cup high. They looked like one of the most stable teams throughout the World Cup and had finally found their missing puzzle piece. Fast bowlers. Pakistan on the other hand were transitioning into a new era of cricket. One without Misbah Ul-Haq and Shahid Afridi. An era of new Pakistani cricketers led by Azhar Ali. Even though Pakistan’s lack of experience made it Bangladesh’s best chance of success, the outcome of the first three ODIs was far from expected.

Bangladesh did more than break Pakistan’s streak. They demolished it. It was a clinical whitewash with Bangladesh outplaying Pakistan in all three ODIs. A whitewash was expected to be in Pakistan’s repertoire but not Bangladesh’s. Beating a side like England in a World Cup was a completely different ballgame to playing a bilateral series but they stepped up to the challenge.

The initial breakthrough was led by Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim who put on an incredible 178-run partnership. It was an incredible performance that allowed the home side to set a colossal target of 329. It was a target that would have been tough for any team let alone this new Pakistani side. The side that was being led by a man who had played is last ODI in January 2012. However Ali led from the front with a 73 ball 72. The captain was initially backed up by Haris Sohail and Mohammad Rizwan who both scored half centuries however six of Pakistan’s XI were removed for single figures and they were bowled out for 250.

The second ODI was Pakistan’s chance to bounce back but once again it was their batting that let them down. None of their top six batsmen were able to make a 50+ score. Only an unbeaten partnership of 185 between Saad Nasim and Wahab Riaz saved the visitors from a complete embarrassment. Defending 239 was not out of the question however. Not with a bowling attack like Pakistan’s. An attack that had only a month ago suffocated the South African batsmen. Once again though, Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim stepped up to the plate. The hosts made it look like a walk in the park as they chased down the total with 11 overs to spare.

Bangladesh had finally recorded their first series win against Pakistan but they weren’t finished. The third ODI followed a similar suit to the second. Bangladesh chased down 250 with eight wickets in hand and 10 overs to spare.

It was an all round quality performance from Bangladesh. They had proven they weren’t just a one trick pony and that it was time they were taken seriously not just by transitioning teams.

Wahab Riaz vs. Australia

24 Tuesday Mar 2015

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Australia, AUSvPAK, cwc2015, ICC, Pakistan, quarterfinal, Wahab Riaz, WorldCup2015

Pakistan had made it into the quarter finals after more than just a rough start. They had been crushed by their arch rivals India and then fell to an embarassing 1-4 facing the West Indies before collapsing for 160. It was not unexpected that Pakistan would suffer with three of their front-line bowlers being injured or barred from the competition but their performance had been well below par. However they came back to beat South Africa who had just posted back-to-back 400+ totals. It was a low scoring game where Pakistan defended 222. They bowled South Africa out for 202 and the game brought back painful memories of the 2011 quarter final between New Zealand and South Africa. In doing so, Pakistan scraped into the quarter finals and pushed Ireland out.

Even though Pakistan were missing some key players, they still had a decent bowling attack. It was their batting had let them down on more than one occassion and this day was no different. Had they been able to reach 250-260+ they would have been in with a real chance.

Both openers were removed cheaply once again. Haris Sohail and Pakistan’s saviour Misbah Ul Haq came together at the crease and put on a decent partnership. The pair batted well and built up the innings again. However on 97 Misbah was caught in the deep. From then on, the innings began to collapse. The Pakistani batsmen got out to rash shots and bad placement of the ball. Umar Akmal smashed the ball straight down Finch’s throat. A few metres either side and it would have been a boundary. Four of the Pakistani batsmen were caught out in the field. They used the batting powerplay poorly and even though a small cameo from Shahid Afridi kept the spirit of the fans up it was not enough to push the team up to a defendable total.

The Australians lived up to their name as the aggressors. They taunted the tail-enders, in particular Wahab Riaz. Mitchell Starc and Shane Watson mockingly explained what a cricket ball was and that he should try and hit it. They fired up Riaz, a decision Watson would later come to regret. Had someone put a thermometer anywhere near Riaz it would have burst. The hosts finally plowed through the tail end and Pakistan finished on 213 runs.

The fact that Australia won by six wickets does not do the match justice. Pakistan bowled masterfully. The opening bowlers pulled off great lines and lengths and Sohail Khan had Finch lbw early on. However that wasn’t going to be enough. Pakistan needed a big breakthrough. They needed a gamechanger, and that’s just what they got. At the first bowling change, Wahab Riaz was brought in. Still fired up from his encounter with Starc and Watson he was ready to take on the entire Australian team single handedly. Riaz bowled with the aggression of Dale Steyn and Mitchell Johnson togehter in every single delivery. He took down David Warner with his 3rd delivery and bounced out Michael Clarke with his 10th. Australia were 59-3 and Riaz was not finished. He peppered Watson with the short ball and Watson could not get away. The tension between the two was explosive. Steve Smith was playing well at the other end but nothing else was relevant when Riaz came steaming in to bowl at Watson. He finally cracked under the pressure playing a release shot straight to Rahat Ali. Australia were about to be 83-4. Then Rahat Ali dropped the catch. There are no second chances when you’re defending 213, each chance and half chance needs to be taken. Even at 83-4 it would have been difficult to win but it was a knock-out game and Watson’s return to the dressing room could have thoroughly rattled the hosts.

With the dropped catch it was as though the fight had been drained from the team. Riaz bowled one too many overs in the hope to recreate Watson’s mistake but he began to tire and Watson finally got away. Along with Smith they breezed through to 148 before Smith was caught out lbw by Ehsan Adil. As the partnership broke Riaz was brought back for one final fight. Another catch off his bowling went down, luckily for Glenn Maxwell, which could have left Australia 154-5. It was not meant to be. It appeared only Riaz was in the fight against Australia. Watson and Maxwell finished off the innings and with it pushed Australia into the semi-finals.

No matter the result, the game will be rememebered for Wahab Riaz’s unyielding spell. A spell that would go down in history as one of the greatest.

The holy grail of cricket matches

19 Thursday Feb 2015

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#clingontothecup, Adelaide Oval, Centurion, Cricket, cwc2015, ICC, India, INDvPAK, Pakistan, Virat Kohli, WorldCup2015

15th of February, probably the most anticipated day of the past four years for most Indians. Everyone forgot about Valentine’s Day in all the excitement for the 15th of Feb. India vs. Pakistan.

It was an incredibly hot afternoon in Adelaide and all the Indian and Pakistani fans had swarmed into the city for the day. The streets were bathed in blues and greens and the air filled with drumming and chanting. The Adelaide Oval saw over 40,000 fans gather in the stadium for the match in wigs and costimes with flags and drums, it was an incredible sight. The match was set to be the most watched game in the history of cricket. It was expected that over a billion viewers would tune in to watch India vs Pakistan.

It was MS Dhoni who won the toss and decided to bat first, the crowd noise when he won the toss was as though India had already won the game.

The match began well for Pakistan when they removed Rohit Sharma early on in the eighth over, but that was their only significant breakthrough until the 46th over. Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan put on a great partnership of 127 runs and Virat Kohli went on to once again impress the cricketing world and score an incredible century. The young star smashed through more records as he became the first Indian to score a century in a World Cup against Pakistan. He also became the first Indian to score a century in an World Cup hosted by Australia. Kohli hadn’t had the best time in the Carlton tri-series against England and Australia even though he had played beautifully in the Test matches but as always,  when it really mattered, Kohli stepped up to the challenge. It could have ended very differently for Pakistan though had they taken all of their chances. Kohli was dropped on three and 76 and once he was dismissed, India faced some real trouble with five wickets falling in the space of 24 runs. Had Pakistan dismissed him earlier they may have been chasing a much more reachable total.

Misbah Ul Haq ran out Shikhar Dhawan on 73 when India were on 163 but that only brought in Suresh Raina. A very strange decision as Ajinkya Rahane was yet to bat. Whatever Dhoni’s reasoning was to push Raina up the order, it appeared to be a good one. Raina hit three sixes and five fours in his innings and scored at better than a run a ball. He took some of the pressure of Kohli which likely helped the vice-captain reach his century. India didn’t lose another wicket until 273 runs when Kohli edged the ball to Umar Akmal in the 46th over. It looked as though they would easily reach 320+ runs considering they were only three wickets down even without Kohli, especially with Dhoni ‘the finisher’ to come. However, India stuttered. As soon as Kohli got out, Raina followed suit along with Ravindra Jadeja and Ajinkya Rahane who got out for three and a duck respectively. Dhoni contributed to the total but only 27 runs were scored in the final four overs and it almost looked like India would not reach 300. Sohail Khan dragged back the Indians as he went on to pick up five wickets. Understandably the Indian batsmen were going in to swing for the ball considering their total already and the fact that they had wickets in hand. Though with four overs to go and two set batsmen just being dismissed, it was not an ideal situation. India could have ended on a much higher total had Raina become slightly more careful once Kohli was dismissed.

Regardless of India’s ending, 300 runs was going to be a difficult chase for Pakistan. They lost their first wicket fairly early but slowly built back up. Haris Sohail along with Ahmed Shehzad put on a 68 run partnership for the second wicket. Once again though, India broke through the partnership as it was beginning to look good. Misbah Ul Haq, the captain, was the next man in who had rescued Pakistan on more than one occasion. Once again his team needed him to perform but they could not provide the support to back him up. The next three wickets fell in the space of two runs leaving Pakistan 103-5. Shahid Afridi came in and made a start, he hit a six but never looked completely comfortable. Had Afridi been having a good day, Pakistan might have gotten much closer to the 300 target. However he was removed by another great spell from Mohammed Shami and from there on it was clear that India had the game. Misbah went on to score 76 but Pakistan still fell 76 runs short of the total.

The Indian bowlers did not look like their usual uncompetitive selves, Dhoni coaxed fiery spells out of his fast bowlers and used them very effectively. Shami picked up five wickets and both Mohit Sharma and Umesh Yadav picked up two each. The fast bowlers were well backed up by Ravindra Jadeja who took a wicket and Ravi Ashwin who bowled three maiden overs and also picked up a wicket. It was an all-round strong opening performance by India and a positive start in their quest to retain the World Cup title.

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