‘Transformed’ Pakistan itching to take on India

LONDON: Just about a fortnight ago, Pakistan seemed like a team that had landed in England with little or no chance of making it to the knockout stage of the ICC Champions Trophy.

They had barely qualified for the eight-nation spectacle and when India thrashed them by 124 runs on June 4, many rejected Pakistan as a bunch of losers and predicted that they will bow out of the competition without much fuss.

But three wins in a row against South Africa, Sri Lanka and hosts England have catapulted Pakistan into what has been labeled as “the mother of all finals” against India at The Oval on Sunday.

Back on June 4, the Indians faced a team that was low on confidence and self-belief. They were wayward with the ball, sloppy with the bat and clumsy in the field.

All of that seems to have changed.

Pakistan’s authoritative eight-wicket victory against title favourites England in Cardiff on Wednesday aptly underlined the fact that Pakistan have transformed miraculously into a team that is capable of surprising the best teams in the world.

On Friday at The Oval, the body language of the players was entirely different from what it was before their last game against the Indians.

There was this spark and intensity that was lacking before the previous game.

“Previously the boys weren’t ready for a high-pressure game but after having beaten some of the top teams during the last few days they have are now much more confident,” a team official told ‘The News’ on Friday.

“In many ways it was the defeat against India that changed them. It has served as a wake-up call for the players. They were really ashamed and knew that they had let their country down. Now they are itching to play against India again to settle the scores,” he added.

Pakistan’s rise to the Champions Trophy final, their first in the tournament’s history, is nothing short of being a fairytale.

They were fortunate to have qualified for the event.

Pakistan suffered a shock defeat in October 2015 in Harare and slipped to ninth in the ODI Rankings, just four days after the cut-off date to qualify for CT17 as one of the top eight sides in the world. It was the narrowest of escapes for the Pakistanis.

Pakistan’s line-up has changed significantly since that loss, with only four of the XI that faced Zimbabwe selected for the ICC Champions Trophy: namely Azhar Ali, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik and Sarfraz Ahmed. Crucially, there has been a change of captain too, with the energetic keeper-batsman Sarfraz replacing Azhar in February 2017.

Pakistan have been led admirably by Sarfraz Ahmed to defy expectations and reach the Champions Trophy final Pakistan have been led admirably by Sarfraz Ahmed to defy expectations and reach the Champions Trophy final.

They have made habit of thriving in adversity over the years and Sarfraz said he never lost faith, despite the heavy defeat to India. “If we play good cricket, definitely we will win this tournament,” he told his players. His confidence now seems justified.

South Africa, ranked number one in the ICC ODI Rankings, was the first victim of a resurgent Pakistan, as Hasan Ali’s three-wicket haul inspired a morale-boosting victory in a rain-affected contest at Edgbaston.

It left Pakistan needing to beat Sri Lanka to qualify for the last four, and the team duly delivered, prevailing by three wickets in a nervy encounter at Cardiff.

Many regarded the semi-final against an in-form England side as a step too far for Sarfraz’s men, but once again Pakistan defied expectations, romping to an eight-wicket win, largely thanks to another scintillating bowling display.

And now to Sunday’s (tomorrow’s) final at The Oval. A match which almost no one expected Pakistan to reach. Now, you can only write them off at your own peril.