Pakpassion's TGK gives his unique personal view of Pakistan's greatest triumph - Part 1

Roar of the Tiger PT1. 

By TGK

I had a dream. Once.  A dream in which I would wake up, watch my team win something big and then proceed to walk around like I was drunk with joy for the rest of the day.  They say dreams don’t come true. They say it is better to live in the real world.  On 21st March 1992 this dream did come true.

 

Four years earlier I had watched as the great Khans’ team fell at the semi-final stage, losing to the underdogs but eventual winners Australia.  It was a painful  defeat to take and one that no one really expected. We had a date with destiny, a date with our old rivals the aristocrats from next door.  Alas instead of the next Indo Pak war we got a precursor to the Ashes.  In the intervening years Imran rebuilt the one day team and took it to great heights. Who can forget Wasim Akram's last ball six to win the Nehru cup in India? And the emergence of a real force of nature in Waqar Younis who proceeded to terrorise batsman the world over.  Then there was Aaqib Javed’s world record breaking bowling figures against the Indians at Sharjah.  The Pakistan one day team was a formidable force. 

By the time the next world cup came around the expectation was high. Yet this time the preparation seemed a lot poorer than in previous tournaments.  One thing we all know is Pakistan have always been a great tournament team.  Tournament cricket plays to our strengths. It gives the team a chance to gel. To bond and to build up ahead of steam.  This tournament seemed different. There was something in the air. An unusual expectation.  In 1987 the team was well oiled, and ready. This time the wagon had barely enough wheels to get on the road.  Waqar Younis, the spearhead, the force of nature, the hope, was side-lined before a ball could be bowled. Imran felt a twinge in his shoulder and never played without painkillers again. Miandad’s stomach complaint went from minor to major in a matter of days.  Salim Malik faced the wrath of the great Khan and was a brooding mess. There were some new young guns in the side but they were largely untested.  The team seemed a shambles. Yet there was an air of inevitability about this one. A surety. Destiny would smile. And we would smile with it. 

This tournament would indeed be different. Literally. The revolution began in earnest.  White balls, coloured clothing, some said a long overdue spectacle. The effect was so mesmerising that no ODI today is played with a red ball and white clothing.  There is something about night cricket that has a magic all of its own. Who can forget the Ramadhan tournaments in the muhallas? The white tape and the floodlights were a Ramadhan spectacle.  I always felt the white tape ball swung more in the night. Don’t ask me why, I’m not a physicist! By the end of this tournament swing would be all the rage and the future of night cricket would be sealed forever. The game would never be the same. 

Stars would shine brightly, while others would say goodbye and never shine on the pitch again. Of the many young players making their debuts two young iconic batsman were beginning their careers. Sachin and Lara were playing their first World Cups and both made impacts against Pakistan.  The first match against the West Indies seemed interesting on paper but considering the mighty confrontations both teams had enjoyed in the very recent past, it was a disappointment. Rameez Raja played a painstakingly slow innings of a hundred and along with Miandad helped Pakistan post 220 in their 50 overs.  Rameez’s innings seemed a throwback to a bygone age, a 181 ball 100 that felt like it would never end. I’m sure I aged a few months while watching that one. What was notable was the introduction of a young swashbuckling opener in Aamir Sohail who four years later would write his own name in the India vs Pakistan book of bizarre events.  

The West Indies and their new star Brian Charles Lara made light work of the total. Lara with his customary high back lift proceeded to cart the Pakistani bowling to all parts.  The white ball when flying off Lara’s bat is a majestic sight. Sublime majesty and yet brutal at times too. He did retire hurt but not before the youngster had eliminated any hopes of a Pakistani fightback.  The match was lost and the tournament had started poorly. The Pakistani train was stuttering along without a driver and captain. Imran’s shoulder had made him sit out the game and the lack of fight may have been a symptom of the uncertainty in the dressing room. The walking wounded were multiplying.  

The next match saw us play the minnows of Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe I thought? They play cricket? They did but the match saw another Pakistani score a hundred, this time in a winning cause. Aamer Sohail announced his arrival on the scene with brutal panache and proceeded to dominate the hapless Zimbabweans. A new brasher style of opener that contrasted with the Mudasser and Rameez style of grinding it out when required. Wasim and the bowlers then proceeded to clean up the Zimbabweans as required. A fairly routine win. The important aspect was the return of Imran which probably helped the team too.  Unfortunately, the worst was yet to come. 

It was wet in Adelaide. The ball swung. Prodigiously. And our batsman predictably decided to troop back to the pavilion in quick succession. England was the form team of the tournament. The 87 finalists had already won their previous games and were looking good. Defreitas and co destroyed the Pakistani batting.  74 all out and all our hopes seemed to be washing away in the pathetic weather down under. “Abay yaar yay kya bakwaas batting hay” was one of the less profane statements heard in school that day.  Destiny had other ideas however. The rain came again and the match was washed away.  The point achieved would prove important. 

The tournament organisers had done away with the previous format and all teams played each other once with the top four proceeding to the semi-finals. Some say this format has never been bettered. The format was great but the new rain rule left much to be desired.   A strange calculation method that has remained incomprehensible to this day hence why attempting the feat would probably show up my poor arithmetic skills. On this one occasion I say thank God for the Duckworth Lewis method.

  

After the great escape, Pakistan’s walking wounded prepared for the big one. India vs Pakistan at the World Cup. There have been five encounters since that fateful day. Pakistan have not registered a win in any of them. Considering a formidable overall record against their rivals, this remains a sour point for the fans.  On this particular day no such strange hang-ups existed. India had been no match for Pakistan in recent encounters and many of us sat and expected more of the same. Yet an air of uncertainty hung over this one.  A sense that all was not well with the team. Wounded, out of form and a bit of a rabble as Boycott would muse. However there was something there. A beast that was itching to be let out yet was finding it hard to do so.  The Indians made sure the beast kept quiet in this match. Another future star , a certain little master, made a well played fifty and helped his team register 216. Ordinarily it seemed the score was not enough. The Pakistani players seemed upbeat and this match looked like it would follow previous encounters. It was not meant to be.  The young Pakistani batsman seemed to be lost and before we knew it Miandad was our last hope. Again.  The match is probably best remembered for his monkey jump antics while scolding Kiran More. The street fighter was probably just annoyed at the batting around him. The team duly lost and India registered their first World Cup win over Pakistan. Many better matches would be fought in the years ahead. 

Another loss and all would be riding on a few games and the weather. Where it helped against England, it took away against a resurgent South Africa.  The South Africans had mesmerised the tournament and it was refreshing watching this new team take to the international scene after years of isolation. Young, brash and electric in places, arguably the team that eventually revolutionised fielding in international cricket. Who can forget Jonty Rhodes’ Superman impression when running out Inzamam? We all stood and watched with awe. “Abay chul bara Jonty aya hay” was now a common insult to a budding fielder in the muhallas!  The match was lost and everything hinged on the next game against the World Champions Australia. The South Africa game and the previous one against India did show a resurgence in Pakistan’s bowling. Wasim Akram the spearhead had found some form and with the introduction of the Qadir clone, Mushtaq , the Pakistan attack looked like it had a bit more variety to it. The inner beast was slowly waking from its slumber. The next match would see it open its eyes and roar for the first time in the tournament. A roar that would be felt by all and sundry.  The Khan would decide the form this beast would take. 

Inevitably fate chose a do or die revenge encounter against the world champions who had bested the favourites in the 1987 world cup. A loss that still grated Imran four years later. On that day, he wore a black t shirt with a tiger emblazoned upon it, an animal much admired in the sub continent and by Imran himself. On this day while coming out for the toss, he wore a shirt again. This time  it was a white shirt with a tiger upon it.  The beast had a form. Fight like cornered tigers was the slogan and a simple rousing speech from the Khan set the stage.  Now the world would watch Imran’s tigers roar and show us what they could do.

 

Pakistan decided to bat first and the openers began well putting on 78 before Rameez was out to Whitney.  Rameez’s strange tournament continued but no one could deny his fighting qualities.  Sohail blazed away at the other end and proceeded to put the Aussie attack to the sword. The high backlift reminded us of Graham Gooch and many young Aamirs started emerging around the muhalla grounds.  Malik, who had hardly lit up the tournament, was a shadow of the awesome player who had destroyed India in 87. He seemed preoccupied and brooding, sad considering he was one of the best ODI players around at the time.  The batting needed a lift and Imran was tinkering with the order by moving himself up. The hapless young Inzamam was moved down the order and Imran moved into the middle. It seemed to give the team what they needed and they managed to post a competitive 220. 

The bowling then got to work. Mushtaq all arms twirling like his idol the maestro Qadir. The young apprentice began to weave the magic his master had done years back.  Border and Jones threatened to take the Aussies home, but a year earlier a similar scenario in Sharjah had occurred.  Pakistan had blown away the Aussies in a hail of thunderbolts that Zeus himself would have been proud of. The same fate awaited the hapless hosts. Their tournament was to end on a low note, brought down by the guile of Mushy and the sheer brilliance of Akram. We sat and watched the match in our living  room. My dad’s wise words sharing the room with us. Asian fathers have a knack for giving their expert opinion on every passage of play. They get it right most times. “Aik dafa semi main poanch gay to tournament hamara hay putur. Yay team harnay vaali nahi hay ub. ” I had learnt to believe what he said.

 

Pakistan were alive and kicking again. A match against Sri Lanka now awaited and it ended with a comfortable victory. What was pleasing was seeing the return to form of Malik and Miandad.  Both made fifties. Imran again promoted himself up the order and took responsibility for his team. A leader, leading from the front. His tigers roaring and bounding forth to cower the opposition. Pakistan were now peaking when required.  The semis beckoned. But not before the Aussies took on the West Indies.  It was the last match in the pool games. A Windies win would eliminate the Pakistani tigers before the beast could feast some more.  We prayed for an Aussie victory. Surely destiny would not be denied? It wasn’t. The Aussies beat the West Indies and Pakistan were in the semi-finals. A date with the surprise team of the tournament beckoned.