Honestly, a bit tired of all the posts and stuff on the situation of us doing well against a weaker team. It's not a long-term thing to be happy about and of course doesn't warrant chest thumping but what else were we supposed to do against Zimbabwe? Roll over and let them beat in a few games so that people would have something to look forward to?
It's simple as that. You play a team that's in front of you to play, and you try to dominate them to the best of your abilities. If they aren't good enough, it's not your fault.
For years and years, we have struggled to dominate teams which have been even weaker than Zimbabwe. The hunger and desire to decimate the opposition has never been there for us. Heck even in our strongest era we lost to weak teams due to complacency. We have lost home series to teams that were on paper at least much weaker than us but we've managed to put rabbits back in the hat and ended up having hurtful defeats.
There's a level-playing field in cricket within a match (most times except when conditions offer massive advantage like late-evening due, early morning moisture), but overall there's no level-playing field in cricket. Indian pitches have been notoriously batting friendly, Pakistan was a batting heaven where no one would get out - some of our very average teams have visited India and created batting records. Our first 300 plus chases have come against India and what not. When the same players come back, they are total duds, hello says Nasir Jamshed - who appeared like the second coming of Bradman once upon a time but now is only famous for eating parathas, having links to bookies, and a parody twitter account.
Just because Fakhar has batted well against a weak opposition and piled up runs doesn't require any discussion. I've not enjoyed cricket as well, but I've enjoyed the domination that we've had. As a cricket fan, sometimes you need that. Our team goes to Australia and we're handed beating after beating and we've to live with that. This time in UAE when we took them to the cleaners, it was satisfying to watch. Maybe the cricket would be more enjoyable if it had more hair-raising moments in it but sometimes it's equally enjoyable to have a plain sea to sail into. You don't need a rollercoaster ride to get your adrenaline working, sometimes you need the quite comfort of a swing set on a nice breezy summer evening.
The records will continue to tumble and change, maybe Prithvi Shaw will make a debut and get to thousand runs in 15 games or even less. Maybe someone else would pop up, play a series against some really weak teams and change everything else. A team like South Africa visiting Sri Lanka isn't really a challenge over there after the personnel change within that team, should wickets against them be removed out of the records of Sri Lankan seamers.
Fakhar has played back-to-back 5 odis and scored runs. Imam has done the same and filled his boots. Does it offer a sneak peak into their future? No. Does it make them quality cricketers who'd be rememberd long after they have retired for the heroics of this series? No. The cricket records are seen by cricket nerds, and they don't need an asterik against any achievement. We know the stories behind the numbers and our assumptions are always there no matter what record is there.
This has been a drab of a series, but I've loved that we've learned to be ruthless and dominate. And that we didn't put the foot away from the pedal and become complacent after we sealed the series. It's a sign that we are going in the right direction. It's a sign that our players want to win and continue winning. A winning team/individual makes the sports boring. Mere mortals can't compete Federer, not his fault, Australian team won three worldcups on the bounce, not there fault.
Get used to the winning culture. If these players fail in the Asia cup, or if Imam never ever makes a century again, it doesn't take it away from him that in this series he got the best out of Zimbabwe. That's what it is, not a sign of the future, now a prelude of great things to come, but a five match series where we did well and that's all.
Now if we are removing runs and wickets and what not, then start it from the days when the sports started. Or create a new filter on cricinfo and live with that.
Ajeeb science daan saaray hi.
