PAKISTAN WIN WORLD CUP 2009!!

[fatman17]

The final most unpredictable act


Lord's was a flag-waving sea of green and Dil Dil Pakistan rang out once more to celebrate Pakistan's victory in the 2009 Twenty20 World Cup. A Pakistani bus with people hanging off every door, window, and cramming the roof blared its horns outside the home of cricket. What a moment for Pakistan cricket fans and the residents of St John's Wood, NW8.

Pakistan cricket and unpredictability have become bedfellows over the years. At the start of this tournament there was a sense that the bedfellows were falling out of love. Pakistan had become predictable no-hopers. An underwhelming show in the warm-ups was followed by a cold performance against England.

Fans of Pakistan cricket may be pleased to know that unpredictability is back with a vengeance. Not only have Pakistan gone from unconvincing to unbeatable, they also won the final with the cool of habitual winners.

When everybody expected Sri Lankan to rocket away in the first six overs, Pakistan ripped the heart out of their batting. A blow that Kumar Sangakarra recovered from in masterful fashion. Sri Lanka had set themselves 155 plus when they won the toss. After the first six overs, they settled for as many as they could get, which ultimately was not far short of their original target.

It was enough to make Pakistan supporters anxious. The response by Younis Khan's team did little to settle nerves. For the best part of 16 overs it was hard to decipher whether the Pakistan innings was an exercise in immaculate timing or a stumbling chase of a manageable total.

When Shahid Afridi, the man of the match and Pakistan's man of the series, launched Udana for six over midwicket the verdict was a beautifully paced chase. The crowd bayed Afridi's name each time he faced a ball, and their champion--as if making up for years of disappointment--responded by winning the World Cup for Pakistan.

Sri Lanka were heroic today as they have been throughout the tournament. They are cricketers of unusual intelligence and dignity. Their battle to defend a low total was brave and skillful. The two best bowling sides in the tournament went toe to toe, and it was the batsmen of Pakistan who held firm.

Younis Khan followed in the footsteps of his hero Imran Khan and lifted a World Cup for Pakistan. Each intervening year has made this victory sweeter. Younis also followed his hero in two other ways. First, he managed to pull together a disjointed Pakistan team into a world beating unit. Second, he announced his retirement--but only from Twenty20 cricket.

He may as well. How can you beat the drama of this moment? The past years of desperation in Pakistan; isolation in international cricket. No cricket ground you can call home. A nomadic life with sporadic international cricket.

At the end Younis Khan dedicated the victory to Bob Woolmer, his mentor, and to the long-suffering people of his homeland. Whoever scripted this is a genius.

The final most unpredictable act

Lord's was a flag-waving sea of green and Dil Dil Pakistan rang out once more to celebrate Pakistan's victory in the 2009 Twenty20 World Cup. A Pakistani bus with people hanging off every door, window, and cramming the roof...

 

[courageneverdies]

Best post of this thread

We are the record breakers, pride breakers and we never forget our defeat. Just a revenge of previous T20 WC. I am sure we would have been enjoying the most if India had been there in place of SL. But ah they are worst than most.

Anyways CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL PAKISTANIS B&S.

Kit Over n Out.

 

[fatman17]

Pakistan v Sri Lanka, ICC World Twenty20 final, Lord's

Clinical, professional and un-Pakistani

The win came through a most uncharacteristic performance

Sambit Bal at Lord's

June 21, 2009


Shahid Afridi's pose after sealing the win was that of a winner who had known the inevitability of victory

In the end there were no theatrics. The glory came with a leg-bye, and with Lasith Malinga appealing for a leg-before. Then there was Shahid Afridi, standing with arms wide open, pointing upwards. As the stadium erupted around him, he stood still, no drama; it was the pose of a winner who had known the inevitability of victory.

The team-mates came charging in; a flag was produced, some of the Pakistani players knelt to kiss the turf, and the stadium was awash with green. Suddenly you noticed that even the stewards were green and were called the green team. Was it always meant to be that way?

Resolute. Restrained. Mature. Measured. Not in the most bizarre of your dreams would you associate these words with Afridi. But those very words summed up his performance today. He wanted the responsibility, he grabbed it and fulfilled it. And his approach to the game was a microcosm of how Pakistani played the final.

It was a clinical, thought-out and utterly professional display. Very un-Pakistani. Yorkers didn't thud into pads or uproot stumps; there were no magic moments from the spinners, either; and the ball didn't fly over the ropes.

Abdul Razzaq, no more than a trundler, but a canny and grizzled one, did what the unheralded Angelo Mathews had done far more dramatically for Sri Lanka at The Oval a couple of days ago, and once Sri Lanka lost four wickets in the Powerplay, it was a question of keeping the screws tight. And so Pakistan did, until the last over, which produced 17 runs.

On another day, trusting a rookie bowler with the final over could have been a costly mistake, but this was to be Pakistan's day. And for the most part they remained in charge of the game. And from the way the first over was bowled, it was apparent there was a plan.

Tillakaratne Dilshan loomed large over the match. By a distance, he had been the batsman of the tournament, both prolific and quick, inventive and solid. Single-handed he had won Sri Lanka the semi-final, and with their bowling, Sri Lanka were perhaps not looking for a lot more than 150. The weakness of the Pakistan bowling attack, apparently, lay at the top. Would there be a change in tactics? Give Umar Gul an over? Open with Afridi?

Pakistan stuck to the same bowlers. Mohammad Aamer, 17 years and six Twenty20 matches old, was given the new ball. What changed, though, was the method. The first ball was a sharp bouncer, and Dilshan got hurriedly out of the way; the second one hurried him into a cut shot; the third pushed him further back, the fourth could have had him - the attempted pull ricocheted off his body and then caught his bat and could have gone anywhere; and the fifth did - a weak pull spooned up to backward square-leg. A plan only looks well-laid after it has been executed precisely.



Yorkers didn't thud in to the pads or uproot stumps; there were no magic moments from the spinners either; and the ball didn't fly over the ropes




The main threat removed, Pakistan fell back to the percentages. Razzaq removed three; Afridi hurried through his overs, subtly varying his pace - one ball was recorded at 126kph - and length, and mixing them up; Saeed Ajmal, slipped in overs quietly; and Gul arrived to finish the job. A lot has been said that about Gul's ability to reverse the 12-over-old ball, but his success at this format lies in his mastery over line and the ability mix up his length. It was a short ball that got him the wicket in this match.

The chase, of course, belonged to Afridi. He had scored three embarrassing ducks early in the tournament, mostly swiping across the line, and until the semi-finals had earned his spurs bowling. Ahead of the semi-final he had begged for a promotion, and vindicated himself there with a match-winning half century. Here in the final, though, he played perhaps the most responsible innings of his long and frustratingly inconsistent career. When Afridi nudges his third ball to midwicket and scampers two, you instantly become aware that you are watching something different. It turned out to be special.

His first boundary did not come until the 20th ball, when he hoisted Murali for a six and followed up an inside-out drive that went for four. There were seven boundary-less overs while he was at the crease, and in a sudden explosion, he turned the match irrevocably Pakistan's way hitting successive balls from Isuru Udana for six and four.

Like in the first tournament in South Africa, this one was a low-scoring final. It wasn't as dramatic, but it was a simmering, gritty contest won by a team desperate not to miss out once again. It would have had a poignant touch had Misbah-ul Haq, whose fateful scoop cost Pakistan the title the last time, got an opportunity to redeem himself, but that he was not needed reflected Pakistan's mastery over the proceedings.

As the Pakistan team took their victory lap, the public address system belted out "Dil Dil Pakistan", an all-time favourite rock song by Vital Signs, an 80s Pakistan band. Later at the press conference, Younis Khan described the win as a gift to the nation. The cricketers have done their bit to lift a beleaguered country.

Sambit Bal is the editor of Cricinfo

 

[fatman17]

on a personal note my commiserations to India and Sri Lanka - you guys fought hard but this T20 Cup was written for Pakistan.

Better Luck next time!

 

[XYON]

My voice is still HOARSE from shouting PAKISTAN ZINDABAD on the roads of Islamabad last night. The largest gathering was at Jinnah Super Market where kids were ecstatic and frantic with their jubilation, dancing, flag waving on the super win by a super team! It has been a long time since I have seen my nation alive like this. Thank you again Pakistan Cricket Squad!

 

[fatman17]

Pakistan v Sri Lanka, ICC World Twenty20 final, Lord's

Beyond the realm of victory

Dileep Premachandran looks at the enormity of Pakistan's Twenty20 triumph, and how much it means to the country during troubled times

Dileep Premachandran

June 21, 2009


This victory could mean even more than the one in 1992.

This is no Cinderella story. This is about the ugly sister who woke up to find that she had a glass slipper on her feet. Remember that this is the team that has no home series to look forward to in the foreseeable future, the country that had the ICC Champions Trophy taken away from it and given to South Africa. These are the players who were prevented from playing in the IPL, and the same side that was annihilated by South Africa and India in warm-up matches. But less than three weeks on, they are champions of the world. Their fans, who have had to put up with so much over the past few years and whose support has been so steadfast and magnificent, deserve this perhaps more than the players do. This was their moment, one that they won't ever forget.

Younis Khan jokingly called himself the 'Second Khan' at the post-match press conference. In truth, this victory could mean even more than the one in 1992. Back then, despite their inconsistency, Pakistan were the glamour boys of international cricket, big drawcards wherever they went. These days, they have become the pariahs. The players, caught in the crossfire of global politics, have seen their opportunities to shine dwindle, and watched with both envy and curiosity as those with less talent scooped up million-dollar contracts and endorsement deals.

The parallels to 1992 are unmistakeable though. Pakistan don't like doing things the easy way. Not for them the easy stroll in the park, not when they can scramble across an obstacle course that would test an SAS commando. Back in the day when everything smelt like teen spirit, Pakistan lost three of their first five games and would probably have been eliminated but for the Adelaide game against England being rained off. The revival started with convincing victories over Australia and Sri Lanka at the WACA, before back-to-back wins against highly fancied New Zealand put them into the final. Wasim Akram's mastery of swing did the rest.

The mandatory lousy start here included a 48-run thumping by England, and a botched run-chase against the Sri Lankans in the Super Eights. But emphatic victories against New Zealand and Ireland clinched the semi-final place that had eluded the likes of Australia and India, before South Africa, who looked pretty much the complete side, were caught cold by the Shahid Afridi show. There was a re-run in the final, with Abdul Razzaq also chipping in to prove that there really is no substitute for big-match experience.

Afridi and Razzaq were in the squad when Pakistan put up a decent Twenty20 total in a World Cup final at Lord's in 1999. Unfortunately, it was a 50-over contest, and Australia chased down the runs with embarrassing ease. Two years ago, they hauled themselves out of a mid-match ditch to come with a lofted hit of victory against India, but Misbah-ul-Haq's attempted paddle found the fielder and not the rope. Often, a couple of feet is all that separates the sporting immortals from the also-rans.

Watching the lap of honour after the game, I was reminded of one of sport's true Cinderella stories, of the Danish footballers who landed up at Euro '92 after cutting short their summer holidays. Yugoslavia had been banned, and the Danes offered an eleventh-hour invitation. They rode their luck to the final, against a German side that had made its way there while building up their traditional head of big-tournament steam. The final was a mismatch, only it was the mavericks that bossed it against the examplars of consistency.

And like the Danes, Pakistan's support has illuminated this competition. Some might have found the horn-blaring celebrations at Trent Bridge a little foreign, but it's exactly that sort of passion that has kept the game going in Pakistan despite all the trials and tribulations. Lunatics that target even sportsmen may be holding parts of the country to ransom, but the spirit of 1992 was in ample evidence at Lord's today. In times of trouble, the inheritors of the Kardar-Fazal-Imran legacy invariably find a way, and while the world may not yet heed Younis's impassioned plea to go and play there, it's once again been reminded that you ignore Pakistan cricket at your peril.

Dileep Premachandran is an associate editor at Cricinfo

 

[FarhanDanish]

پاکستان ٹونٹی ٹونٹی کا عالمی چیمپئن

اللہ کا لاکھ لاکھ شکر ہے کہ پاکستان جیت گیا
سارے پاکستان کو اور ساری دنیا میں رہنے والے پاکستانیوں کو بہت بہت مبارک ھو​

 

[afriend]

Congratulations on the win brothers..!!!!

 

[A1Kaid]

Until now I have not commented on this epic glory and victory for the nation of Pakistan.


Congratulations to Pakistan!

This victory has raised the morale and spirit of the entire nation in Pakistan and outside of Pakistan.


It was a great victory and Pakistan battled hard.


To Sri Lanka, you played very well. Before this year your Cricket team was unknown and you were not considered, this year you showed the world how quickly one cricket team can rise up and play well. Not many other teams have ever risen so quickly.

Hey if your going to lose the World Cup what better team to lose it to than Pakistan?


This is not just a victory for Pakistan (all Pakistanis regardless of religion) but may this be a victory for the Muslims of the sub-continent and those who feel compassion and sentiment for Pakistan.


Post victory

Pakistan Zindabad!

 

[fatman17]

Brilliant triumph brings joy for stressed nation

By Muhammad Ali

Pakistan entered the Twenty20 World Cup in England as ‘rusty underdogs’. They had not played enough international cricket since the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in 2007. Their physiological level and morale were down after the Sri Lanka cricket team bus was attacked by a bunch of terrorists on March 3 near the Gaddafi Stadium. The attack prompted the International Cricket Council (ICC) to take away Pakistan’s hosting rights for 14 matches of the 2011 World Cup. Before this, Pakistan has become the pariah of world cricket after being shunned by foreign teams due to security concerns that forced the Champions Trophy shifted out of the country.

But lady-luck gave Pakistan, runners-up to India in South Africa two years ago, an opportunity to banish some of the demons from the last World Cup in the Caribbean and unfortunate happenings at home and show the cricket world that they are still a force to reckon with. Pakistan kept their unpredictability tag intact and defeated the men from Pearl Island by 8 wickets on Sunday at Lord’s to claim the coveted title that they were longing for so desperately. Sri Lanka, who have been the model of consistency in the tournament, were caught off guard by aggressive tactics. This big triumph, came after 17 years with first one in 1992, has not only given fans something to cheer about but also brought happiness on people’s faces who are facing a tough time due to the restive political situation in the country and the expanding terror threats.

Cricket has always been a big binding force in the country and the team’s success in the Twenty20 World Cup has helped lift the spirits of the people. The last few months have been very hard for the people and many of us carry psychological scars of the innocent lives lost in the terrorist attacks. But for now we have something to celebrate and look forward to. The victory also gave a clear message to terrorists that cricket cannot be stopped or halted. It will go on, whether in Pakistan or abroad. Pakistan played the final in a brilliant manner. Their performance was clinical and there were no mistakes. Shahid Afridi, who guided his team home in the 19th over with an unbeaten 54, showed why he has so match fan following. The destination of the trophy was sealed when he swung a huge six over midwicket off Isuru Udana in the 18th over.

After losing the warm-up matches against archrivals India and South Africa, most of the critics had written Pakistan off. But the green shirts bounced back twice over to keep their hopes alive. Younis Khan and his men lost their opening preliminary match against England, but then thrashed minnows the Netherlands to advance to the Super Eight. There was another defeat in the second round against Sri Lanka, but Pakistan came back strongly to defeat New Zealand in a key game before overpowering Ireland to make the semi-finals. Pakistan may have had one of the easier routes to the semi-finals but they had the worst twenty-four months of any team.

In the last four stage, Pakistan were yet to win a game against significant opposition. Their players hadn’t contributed collectively and so it was unlikely all 11 players would maximise potential against opponents as able as South Africa. To have a hope of playing in the final, Pakistan needed individual brilliance from one of their match-winners: Umar Gul, Younis, or perhaps Misbahul Haq. Instead, it came from Afridi. The win against a strong team like South Africa came as a shot in the arm for Pakistan cricket. Despite winning a record seven consecutive Twenty20 matches, South Africa were constricted through the middle stages of their innings and eventually fell seven runs short of Pakistan’s relatively modest 149 for 4.

Eleven supremely fit and ruthlessly efficient cricketers, on top of their game, had their dreams of a first-ever world title ended by one audacious man. That cricket is a team game is an oft repeated cliché but the Proteas were eliminated from the event solely because of Afridi’s intensity and all-round skill. South Africa once again proved that they are ‘chokers’. This crushing sense of loss of so many reverses – 1996, 1999, 2003 and 2007 World Cups, the roadblocks of Champions Trophy and now two successive Twenty20 World Cups – must have taken a toll on the Proteas psyche.

Still, there should be some disappointment that Pakistan failed to post bigger totals and their fielding was abysmal. The current batting approach is short of ingenuity and invention, which is something of a surprise. Though Misbah, usually the prime architect of unusual strokeplay, was unable to discover his touch, his teammates Abdul Rzaaaq, Kamran Akmal, Younis and Afridi led from the front in crunch games, and above all Pakistan’s bowling proved formidable through out the tournament. The unsung heroes came to the fore. Fast bowler Umar Gul, whose world record-breaking spell against New Zealand has been tarnished by thinly veiled accusations of ball-tampering, and off spinner Saeed Ajmal displayed their excellence with Afridi proving critical for Pakistan in the middle overs. Pacer Mohammed Aamer showed that he is improving with every outing and could become a truly special bowler for Pakistan. Encouragingly, Pakistan are increasing their intensity and finding a team formula that is better suited to Twenty20 cricket. The skipper urged his teammates to win it for their late coach Bob Woolmer. They did just that, and for themselves and their country.

 

[Moin91]

Congratulations to everyone on this Great Victory of Pakistan..
Brilliant performance by Pakistan Team....Excellent bowling,fielding & batting....and what a great Knock by Afridi..

Pakistan Cricket team Zindabad

Pakistan Zindabad

 

[SummerWine]

'Pakistan's fortunes mirrored Afridi's' | Comments | Cricinfo Talk | Cricinfo.com

Pakistan v Sri Lanka, ICC World T20 final, Lord's

'Pakistan's fortunes mirrored Afridi's'

June 22, 2009Ian Chappell and Sanjay Manjrekar discuss Pakistan's win and why the World Twenty20 has been a resounding success
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Ian Chappel is my personal favourite commentator, has always been along with few more....

Manjrekar used to be good, especially when it came to Pak. He did lot of assignments on Pak in last few years but dont know what happened to him during this tournament.

And thankfully in above link, he is mostly asking, not answering.

 

[brahmastra]

is it true that afridi is going under drug test in England? I heard it in Indian news.

 

[moha199]

Oh yes babe we won, we won

 

[Omar1984]

is it true that afridi is going under drug test in England? I heard it in Indian news.

Only indian news would come up with that nonsense.