By: Iman Attique and Zoha Fareed Chishti
The crowd goes silent in anticipation as Shaheen Shah Afridi runs in to bowl the first over of the game. Moments later, it erupts – girls and boys alike going berserk at the umpire’s raised finger as the on-strike batter makes his way off the pitch. Such was the atmosphere at the Syed Maratib Ali Sports Complex on the afternoon of the Pakistan vs New Zealand semi-final for the 2022 T20 World Cup. Aman Khan’24, a member of the Student Council who worked on organizing the screening alongside Sports at LUMS (SLUMS), reports that over eight hundred people showed up to the complex throughout the duration of the four-hour thriller. The revenue generated from the tickets costing Rs.200 each was then spent towards the screening of the tournament’s final which took place later in the week.
“A gathering of such size is not something one gets to see in LUMS every day”, remarked Anam Ashraf ’25. The observation holds; while the campus is always abuzz with activity – societies conducting events, panel talks taking place in auditoriums, and the restlessness leading up to Thursday night raves, it is only this sport that brings so many people together in one place. It isn’t surprising either for a country which, since its birth, has assumed cricket as a symbol of its post-colonial identity and national pride. Surely, if there is one thing that goes straight to the nation’s heart, it is this sport.
Getting to their tournament run, Pakistan had been on the brink of elimination with a less-than-stellar start to their performance. However, this added threat of elimination ultimately made Pakistan invincible – living up to the legacy of the cornered tigers, Babar Azam and his men fought back and made it to the finals. Arguably the better team in both the games that Pakistan lost, the losses were painfully marginal; versus India, Pakistan lost to leg-bys and marginal no-ball calls as the opponents got to 13 in 3 balls, and versus Zimbabwe, Pakistan failed to gain 3 runs in 3 balls. The side knew they were in the tournament if they learnt from the marginal differences that defined the first two games, and played the remaining three games right.
Pakistan bounced back in the game against the Netherlands; the comfortable win gave Pakistan more than just points on the table – they now had regained confidence to trample over the unbeaten South African side. And trample they did. In a rain-impacted game, Pakistan – on the backs of Shadab Khan and Iftikhar Ahmed – scored 185. They won the game by 33 runs on DLS.
South Africa were then outplayed by the Netherlands – on the same day Pakistan beat Bangladesh to qualify for the semi-finals. Pakistan obliterated New Zealand at the Sydney Cricket Ground as the entire stadium erupted into Dil Dil Pakistan.
The phrase ‘batters win you games, bowlers win you tournaments’ was written for Pakistan— with the top order failing to fire throughout the tournament, it was the bowling attack—particularly the pace trio of Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf that kept the side in the tournament.
And they came close to winning the title too; when Afridi walked off the field in the 15th over owing to injury, England needed 41 off 29. The bowlers had made the meagre target of 138 look troublesome for the best batting lineup in the world.
While the defeat in Melbourne was painful, it has renewed a sense of hope for upcoming tournaments. This sentiment was evident on the faces of the student body as they left the complex to get back to their tasks for the day; no signs of the usual heartbreak that the passionate Pakistani fanbase has often had to deal with in the past. There is no denying that this team and its fans alike have long held a burning desire for a world cup title. Having been on the brink of a historic win, one can only hope that the players come back stronger and let their ambition drive them all the way to glory.