Pakistan’s hopes of finishing top of Group A and reaching the semi-finals of the Champion’s Trophy unbeaten were ended by a resolute ninth-wicket partnership that led Australia to a final-ball victory at the Centurion. However, despite the loss, Younis Khan, Pakistan’s captain, chose to laud his team’s remarkable comeback after being restricted for only 206.
At 140 for 2, and with Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey having added 81, the reigning champions looked on-course for an easy win. However, with Shoaib Malik and Saeed Ajmal, followed by the fast bowlers, getting quick wickets, the unimaginable last-ball finish was then witnessed.
“Sometimes you stay unbeaten throughout the tournament and then suddenly lose an important game,” Younis said in his post-match press conference. “However, with my players showing the fighting spirit, the loss does not matter much as we’re already through to the last-four having learnt so much from the defeat by Australia. It was a close game and either side had a chance to win it and it became really tough out in the middle.
“Australia showed why they are world champions by holding their nerves and scraping through at the end when another team would’ve played rash strokes and thrown it away.”
Younis, on the eve of the match, had said the two spinners Shahid Afridi and Ajmal held the key to Pakistan’s success against Australia. With Afridi dismissing Tim Paine early on and the duo of Ajmal and Malik causing problems while chipping in with three wickets impressed both captains.
“We knew we had a chance with two spinners,” Younis added. “All they needed was two or three quick wickets and that’s exactly what they delivered and made a huge difference in the match.”
Ponting, too, lauded the spinner’s effort in giving Australia a huge scare following a reasonable start. “It wasn’t an easy pitch to bat on and Pakistan’s spinners made things worse for us,” he said. “We knew their spinners would play a huge role in the match and being the dangerous side that Pakistan is, we’re happy to get through to the last four and that’s the stage we want to be at.”
Making his return after almost 16 months out due to a drugs ban, Mohammad Asif looked largely ineffective at the start but returned to take two vital wickets in an over. Finishing with two for 34 from his eight overs, Asif’s comeback has given the team management a healthy dilemma while selecting the team for the semi-final.
“I’ve always said Asif is a match-winner and he should be playing for us. However, he was unlucky to have missed out in the last two games due to our combination but he got his chance today and it gave him a lot of confidence to be performing this well after being out for so long. With all our fast bowlers having had terrific display under their belts, we will have a difficult time selecting who plays against New Zealand.”
With India exiting the tournament courtesy Australia’s win, Younis now hopes of a Pakistan-Australia final next Monday. He said his side needed wins against top teams in international cricket in order to improve and show the world how good they are. With a win against India earlier in the tournament and coming this close to beating Australia, Younis reckoned the omens looked good.
“If you win against top sides and world champions, it helps the players and the team. With India out of the tournament, I now hope we meet Australia again in the final and beat them. Reaching the semi-final even has been a tremendous performance by us given that Pakistan had never achieved this feat in the past. And it doesn’t really matter who you play in the semi-final or where you play since the pressure will be on both teams given the occasion.”
© Faras Ghani 2009.
Published in DAWN newspaper, Oct 1, 2009
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