Pakistan again has found a novel way of remaining in the news whether it’s forfeiting test match, doping charges and now the biggest slur on them—losing to Ireland. Even a die-hard basher of Pakistan cricket team would not have anticipated this result.
It’s the biggest upsets of cricketing world since Zimbabwe beat Aussies in 1983 World Cup. The manner, in which Ireland pulled the rug from under Pakistan’s feet at Jamaica, came with a touch of the inevitable. Ireland’s inspired bowling effort, and a slew of sloppy strokes by Pakistani batsman, before two brothers N O’Brien, K O’Brien displayed confidence, verve and composure beyond their years to turn a tricky chase into a stroll, winning by three wickets. Pakistan was upstaged by a team that has a combined experience of 30 games only.
A magnificent performance from Ireland, and an innings of real class from their wicketkeeper, Niall O’Brien, sent Pakistan crashing out of the World Cup. Chasing 133 on a difficult pitch, with conditions assisting Pakistan’s bowlers, O’Brien led Ireland’s response with a superb fifty.
If the bowling was under par, it was the performance of their batsmen which really cost them the match. Reckless against West Indies in their opening match, they struggled against the moving ball on a seamer-friendly surface against the minnows. Pakistan’s much vaunted line-up was complacent, impatient and inexcusably careless. Dave Langford-Smith got the ball rolling with an early wicket, but it was Boyd Rankin - the tournament’s tallest bowler at 6 foot 7 - who really caused problems, gaining steep bounce and accounting for Younis Khan, Pakistan’s pivotal No.3. Kamran Akmal was the only Pakistan batsman to show the necessary application - that alone tells a sordid story. With each wicket, Ireland’s fielding intensity rose and Pakistani shoulders dropped. They were dynamic and near faultless. Ireland first sniffed, hounded, then cornered, toyed and finally pounced on Pakistan who were left without any fences to defend themselves.
Labelled as minnows, underdogs, and chirpy hopefuls before the tournament begun, Ireland’s performance was as much a poke in the eye to the detractors who argue against Associates playing at this level. The Ireland coach, Adrian Birrell, said before the game that all the pressure would be on Pakistan. It showed, too. With Bangladesh upsetting India, it was a day of banana skins.
Someone some day will write a thesis on why such debilitating collapses happen to Pakistan only. Why are they predictably unpredictable? Anyway, it was beyond most people. I was among the group of people who believed, nervously, that precisely this sort of abysmal display- comical, abject but wholly devoted - was perhaps a thing of the past. But Pakistan found a strange way to beat themselves and sunk the heartbeats of the fans. But this side can’t be singled out for it’s been done generation after generation, era after era, team after team. Their bowling, though it was stand-in, had all the bite of a butterfly.
One can easily say that they are the most over-rated team. They can’t bat, can’t bowl and can’t field. Two-One Day International losses shouldn’t undo three years of their performance but the nature of the two defeats ensures that some very old and basic questions about Pakistan cricket remain. Are their batsmen equipped to cope with foreign environments and the pressures they exert? Will their fielding ever improve? Above all, does Pakistan exist in a realm of extremes only, capable one day of the sublime and the next day of the ridiculous?
