Almanac of a distinct star (16 March 1999)

16 March 1999

Almanac of a distinct star

Hasan Masood

How eventful have been the last four weeks for Pakistan skipper Wasim Akram? It began with the inaugural Asian Test championship match between India and Pakistan at the Eden Gardens on February 16 and concluded with him receiving the trophy at the Bangabandhu National Stadium on March 15.

The world's best left-arm fast bowler inserted his name in different pages of the history book during this momentous period of his life.

It began with an outright 46-run emphatic win over arch rivals India in that opening match that concluded on March 20 at an empty Eden Gardens following crowd violence that spread over two days. With that historic win, the tall 33-year old Lahorian became the first captain in five tries to win an India-Pakistan match at the Eden Gardens.

Then came the second match against Sri Lanka that began at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore from March 4. In that he earned the distinction of becoming the first Pakistani to get a hat trick in Test cricket since his country began playing at the highest level of cricket at the Firoze Shah Kotla, Delhi, against India in October 1952.

In that that match Wasim bowled three Sri Lankan tailenders - Bandarathilake (0), Wickremasinghe(0) and Sajeewa de Silva (8) - out in three successive balls in the first innings to help Pakistan get full four bonus points.

To follow it up, last Sunday, Wasim went on to get his second hat trick in as many matches forcing Sri Lanka to nine for three wickets in their second innings on the third day of the final. This time he looked happier as he got the wickets with the new ball and against two top order bats - Avishka Gunawardena (0) and Mahela Jayawardena (1). Nightwatchman Chaminda Vaas (0) was victim number two.

With this rare treble, Wasim became only the third person in cricket history, after Australians TJ Matthews and H Trumble, to earn two Test hat tricks. Wasim, with that three wickets, captured a total of 15 in the Championship and earned the man-of-the-championship award, the first man-of-the-tournament in the first ever completed Test Championship in its 120-year history.

Apart from the award, Wasim, who raised his tally to 378 wickets from 88 Test matches, also promoted himself as the fifth leading bowler of the world in Test cricket, toppling legendary former West Indian fast bowler Malcolm Marshall's tally of 376 wickets. He is now only five wickets short of former English all-rounder Ian Botham, who captured 383 wickets.

And, finally, when he lifted the Asian Test Championship trophy from State Minister for Youth and Sports Obaidul Qua-der yesterday, Wasim stepped into history as the winning captain of the world's first ever Test Championship.

"I am definitely feeling very proud, specially with my boys and the way they responded throughout the tournament. Specially after we had one bad year, they really came back well. We played well against India. We worked hard and at the end we got the result," said a beaming Wasim Akram after defeating Sri Lanka by an innings and 175 runs in the final yesterday.

"We had one bad year before I took over once again. Every team goes through a lean patch. The boys wanted to win themselves. Although I said two years back that I would never lead Pakistan again, it was they who really wanted me as their captain and I am very proud the way they responded."

"After today's victory, the whole team is excited. I want to personally congratulate every member of my team," said Wasim.

When asked what was the motivation behind Pakistan performing well these days, the Pakistan captain said that it all began with their series against India.

"After winning the Asian Test Championship, now obviously the World Cup is coming ahead. Before that we have two one-day tournaments in India and Sharjah that is pushing us to win," added Wasim.

"I always believed that Pakistan can win at any stage with our so much of potentials. We were 26 for 6 at Calcutta but then we won that match. We have a lot of talented players in the side, who are capable of turning the fate of a match in favour of their country from any stage and that's our main recipe of success," said Wasim.

Wasim also praised the Bangladesh crowd and supported the idea of holding the final at a neutral venue.

"Bangladesh is my second home and I want to thank the Dhaka crowd for the way they supported us throughout the final. I hope to come back here and play some more cricket in the future," Wasim concluded.

Source :: The Bangladesh Daily Star (https://www.dailystarnews.com)