barah_admi
First Class Star
- Joined
- Jan 19, 2018
- Runs
- 3,365
- Post of the Week
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Babar Azam and Haris Sohail are now inextricably linked, come what may, tournament win or not. They have come together to pick up back to back wins and have done it in a contrasting but equally effective manner. Azam now has ten ODI centuries, is the second fastest to 3000 ODI runs and just outbatted Kane Williamson. Sohail has proved his doubters wrong with a steely grit and an impeccable, flashy technique.
This is not to say New Zealand gave it away easily. Santner and Williamson were absolutely brilliant, turning the white ball on a penny, skipping past both edges, whistling past the stump, turning it this way and that way. Williamson became the Kiwi Murali and just for a heartbeat, just for a nanosecond, just for a moment of madness from Hafeez, it looked like he had turned the game. However, can games ever be turned against Pakistan with Sohail in this form? Or with Azam's silent, watchful vigil? The latter is meant to be Pakistan's chosen saviour yet the ghosts of those around him constantly haunt. The former is not supposed to do what he does, he is not a modern athletic marvel but his wrists are superhuman and his powers of concentration unrivaled.
What more can be said? Is this hyperbole? In this case, certainly now. Azam painted a picture which was not quite perfect but the greatest works of art have that most human component, the slightest hint of vulnerability. It let's us know that they are human, but a human just that bit better than the rest of us mortals. Sohail on the other hand was less vulnerable, even though he took more risks and upped the ante just at the right time. A brutal hit for six, a couple of mistaken dances down the pitch but he moved on. At times he consolidated, at other times he pushed for twos and looked every bit the athlete he is not supposed to be. Bum knee? In a world cup it must be overcome and overcome must truly be Sohail's middle name.
These two are now bound by time and place. Sohail will be remembered as the man who supported the masterpiece. He is the unsung pace maker but just as important as the race winner. As Azam swatted, nay, slapped the delivery for one, bringing up his century, as he roared and ran to the non-striker's end, Sohail awaited. The two men embraced, two men who have changed the fortunes of this team, in this tournament, against better, higher ranked sides. Azam has completed his magnum opus thanks to Sohail's silent rage.
This is not to say New Zealand gave it away easily. Santner and Williamson were absolutely brilliant, turning the white ball on a penny, skipping past both edges, whistling past the stump, turning it this way and that way. Williamson became the Kiwi Murali and just for a heartbeat, just for a nanosecond, just for a moment of madness from Hafeez, it looked like he had turned the game. However, can games ever be turned against Pakistan with Sohail in this form? Or with Azam's silent, watchful vigil? The latter is meant to be Pakistan's chosen saviour yet the ghosts of those around him constantly haunt. The former is not supposed to do what he does, he is not a modern athletic marvel but his wrists are superhuman and his powers of concentration unrivaled.
What more can be said? Is this hyperbole? In this case, certainly now. Azam painted a picture which was not quite perfect but the greatest works of art have that most human component, the slightest hint of vulnerability. It let's us know that they are human, but a human just that bit better than the rest of us mortals. Sohail on the other hand was less vulnerable, even though he took more risks and upped the ante just at the right time. A brutal hit for six, a couple of mistaken dances down the pitch but he moved on. At times he consolidated, at other times he pushed for twos and looked every bit the athlete he is not supposed to be. Bum knee? In a world cup it must be overcome and overcome must truly be Sohail's middle name.
These two are now bound by time and place. Sohail will be remembered as the man who supported the masterpiece. He is the unsung pace maker but just as important as the race winner. As Azam swatted, nay, slapped the delivery for one, bringing up his century, as he roared and ran to the non-striker's end, Sohail awaited. The two men embraced, two men who have changed the fortunes of this team, in this tournament, against better, higher ranked sides. Azam has completed his magnum opus thanks to Sohail's silent rage.
Pakistan Zindabad 
