Predictably unpredictable

Tag of unpredictability is usually associated with Pakistan cricket team and perhaps for the right reasons. They possess the unique ability to surprise their fans and to opposition in the same match. This ability was witnessed in Brisbane Test, in the first innings Pakistan collapsed for just 142, but in second while chasing target of 490 which has never been achieved in 130 years history of Test cricket, they were just 40 runs shy to create history. Performance of team compelled legends of the game to praise an incredible comeback in the almost one-sided match. Many believe fight back of Pakistan made this game best Test match of the year.
Considering batting collapses against New Zealand and in first innings against Australia, many had written off Pakistan, but once again they have proved everyone wrong by strong comeback at Gabba. Performance was of such a class that country is cheering for the team even in defeat. Pakistan were four down and still 325 adrift of the target when Asad Shafiq came on the increase with an Australia win appearing a foregone conclusion. Uncertainty was visible on the face of Australian skipper, when Asad was beautifully building partnerships with tailenders Amir, Wahab and Yasir. Unfortunately, his 137 remained on the losing cause but his innings could be considered one of the best in history of Test cricket. Asad Shafiq could not won match for his country but his heroic innings won him best player of the match award. He is one of the underrated cricketers of modern era, but he showed his class once again. He sailed past West Indies’s Garry Sobers’ after scoring his 9th Test century playing at 6th number.
Evaluating performance of Pakistan, there were many negatives and positives in the memorable Test match. Partnerships of healthy strike rate by tail and Asad proved that being too defensive is not the right approach and going into a shell is not the way to deal with hard batting conditions. Batsmen need to rotate strike more often and should dispatch loose balls for boundaries. Special attention should be given to improve fielding department. Saying catches win matches contains high value in cricket, but many sitters were dropped. In this department team needs to improve massively in order to enhance winning chances in upcoming games. Pakistan could take a lot of positivity and motivation from their heroic performance in Gabba, which can definitely improve their performance in future games of the series.
Before the end of this year team will play one more Test match, but if we look at team’s performance in 2016, there were many highs and lows.
Team achieved top position in the ICC Test Rankings for the first time; earned praises for excellent performances to level series against England in away series. They performed better against West Indies in UAE and bagged series but struggled in hard conditions of New Zealand and lost series 2-0.
At the end, being an unpredictable team associates a unique charm with team Pakistan in world cricket, but we hope unpredictable performances often bring pleasant memories for Pakistani fans.