The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : A fitting reply to armchair critics

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Wednesday, Mar 30, 2005

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Sport - Cricket

A fitting reply to armchair critics

By Inzamam-ul-Haq

During lunch time on the final day, my wife Kashfa wondered what was wrong with me as she had never seen me so excited. I suppose that was the talking point of the day for many others as well. Yes, I was excited for two reasons. First, we had worked very hard on all four days to be in a winning position and, secondly, I realised what a win would mean to my young and inexperienced side.

It is not easy to perform when you have been written off even before a ball was bowled in the series. My boys have been put through that by some of my own countrymen. These armchair critics claimed that the Test matches would not even go into the fifth day as India would wrap things up in four. The results were, of course, a foregone conclusion.

I take this opportunity to remind our critics that, forget the final scoreline of 1-1, my boys never gave up fighting and all the three Tests were keen contests. That, in my opinion, is a huge achievement for my team. It is, therefore, my humble request to these critics ki weh aiynda hawa mein baat na karein (they should not talk in thin air). No cricket match is won or lost till the last ball is bowled. They should have waited till the end of the series before expressing their opinion.

Mature players

I am very pleased with the way this side is shaping up. Younis Khan and Shahid Afridi are now mature enough to handle more responsibility. Danish Kaneria has improved beyond recognition in the past one year. This tour should help make him a complete bowler.

Mohammed Sami bowled well below our expectations in the first two Tests, but in Bangalore he raised his game several notches and bowled his heart out on an unresponsive track. In fact, each one contributed to make this victory special.

In my earlier column, I had expressed the hope that I would win the toss and put at least 500 runs on the board. That's exactly how the script unfolded. When you put 500 runs on the board, it is more or less certain that you are not going to lose the game unless you do something very stupid. As a result, you start applying pressure on the opposition who get weighed down by negative thoughts.

In the last 10-12 Tests, Pakistan had never crossed that magic figure even once — not even in Lahore last year when we beat India. The closest we came was in Mohali. So, with 500-plus on the board, we got after India, and though we didn't bowl as well as we should have done in the first innings, we still had a handy lead to go for the kill in the final innings.

The rest, as they, is history. It was a memorable 100th Test for me and also for my teammates. A lot of people asked me in Bangalore whether winning the Test was revenge enough for Pakistan's 1996 World Cup quarterfinal loss to India at this very venue. In my opinion, you only win or lose in sport. There is no war, no revenge. The `fighting' only takes place in the middle. Beyond the boundary it's love-all.

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