Thriving on adversity
Over the last week, of the seven teams that visited Jaipur, it's been Pakistan who have, ironically, appeared most relaxed
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan in Jaipur
17-Oct-2006
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On the day Pakistan landed in India for the Champions Trophy, in Delhi on
October 8, Younis Khan and Bob Woolmer addressed the media. In the
previous 24 hours, the country's cricket captaincy had been changed twice
and the chairman had changed once and one would have expected them to be
discussing serious matters before the press conference took place. For
most of it, the two communicated by scribbling messages on a piece of
paper but don't be fooled into thinking they were matters of national
interest. It was simply a discussion about whether to grant a television
channel an interview.
On the day before Pakistan's opening encounter of the Champions Trophy, in
Jaipur yesterday, the same duo addressed the media. In the previous 24
hours, the team's two premier fast bowlers had failed dope tests, nobody
knew what the future held in store and one would have, again, expected
them to be discussing serious matters before addressing the press. Before
they began the press conference, both - coughing intermittently -
communicated some thoughts in hushed tones. Surely this time it was
serious. Instead they were trying to out-guess each other on the number of
questions that were likely to be posed. One of them said 60; the other
reckoned it would be 70.
These may appear insignificant incidents but they convey quite a bit about
how this bunch managed to stay cool when the roof had blown off. Over the
last week, of the seven teams that visited Jaipur, it's been Pakistan who
have, ironically, appeared most relaxed. People spotted them in
restaurants, movie halls and tourist sites. It was a side that appeared to
be thoroughly at home with their surroundings, thriving amid the fans and
banter.
Younis spoke passionately about the period, adding that it had no doubt
helped alleviate the pressure. "We've had a lot of fun over the last
week," he said at the end of a thoroughly satisfactory day. "We played
hard cricket, practised hard and had some competitive games amongst
ourselves. What I couldn't do as a youngster, I wanted my boys to do. I
encouraged them to see movies, to have fun. We missed Inzamam a lot and
spoke a lot about him, about his captaincy and his professionalism. But we
wanted to forget the pressures. One day before the game we got another jolt
but I always felt the boys were fit and wanted to play good cricket. For
me, before this game, winning or losing wasn't important, all I wanted
them to do was to play good cricket. And we did."
And good cricket they played. A packed house of neutrals rejoiced in
Pakistan's fightback with the ball before cheering every run in their
run-chase. Their very unpredictability, their sheer bloody-minded
bounce-back ability, was a joy to watch. Just when the tension reached the
highpoint, they found in Abdul Razzaq a matchwinner who sliced through it
like a Rajasthani sword through silk. The standing ovation they granted
Pakistan after the triumph was in direct contrast to the afternoon's
events when the Shiv Saniks, a Hindu fundamentalist organisation, held
banners asking Pakistan to 'Go home'.
Younis Khan didn't make much of a contribution with the bat but his cool
countenance no doubt proved crucial. "There was definitely a bit of
pressure," he said, "but I don't normally put myself under pressure. Of
course, if we'd lost people would have got a chance to say things against
us. But the boys stood together, even though they were under pressure. I
was asked at the toss if I'd slept OK and honestly I slept very well.
Whatever pressure was there, it didn't affect my sleep."
Over the last few years, Inzamam-ul-Haq's monk-like cool, with an emphasis
on religion, has played a vital part in keeping the side together. It came
as no surprise when the side got together for a namaaz after the
game, thanking the God almighty for this fine win. Younis mentioned the
importance of faith, he added that their religious beliefs always kept
them strong. He didn't mention it but sometimes you wonder what this team
would do if controversies decide to take a back seat. The more the
trouble, more the joy.
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan is staff writer of Cricinfo