It is an infant rivalry, but it is a rivalry nonetheless.

Pakistan's win over New Zealand in Birmingham was set up by Mohammad Aamir and finished by Babar Azam. Pakistan's premier fast bowler and Pakistan's best batsman rising to the occasion when needed the most - What better way could there be to lift an entire nation than this!

Birmingham was absolutely electric!

Twenty five thousand Pakistanis at the ground made it feel like we all were in Pakistan itself. A sea of green, thousands of flags, and Dil Dil Pakistan echoing around Edgbaston turned Birmingham into Lahore for the day.

It all started with Aamir's first ball of the match. Chants of "Aamir Aamir Aamir" as he ran up to bowl made magic happen as Aamir broke through the defenses of Martin Guptill, shattered his stumps, and set up the entire day for Pakistani fans.

The euphoria that resulted from this did not die down for even a second for the next 8 hours!

Even though New Zealand fought back from 80 odd for 5, the final target was not a daunting one and we expected Pakistan to chase it down.

But as Pakistan fans, we all know better. Pakistan and chasing don't seem to go together.

Babar Azam and Haris Sohail, however, made sure that these ghosts of past chases stayed away from Birmingham.

Pakistan's victory was a shut up message to a number of Pakistan critics.

Critics who did not believe that Pakistan could chase.

Critics who did not believe that Pakistan could compete against the bigger teams.

Critics who laughed every time a reference to 1992 was made.

Critics who mocked the believers of Pakistan cricket miracles after the losses to Australia and India.

Critics who harshly criticize Babar Azam for not finishing games.

I say harsh because Babar is merely 68 ODI innings old. How can one expect someone with that little experience to be a world beater? How can one expect someone who has not even played 100 ODIs to be a Kohli or a Joe Root?

Babar is immensely talented no doubt. He is the best batsman in Pakistan currently, and the best batsman to come out of Pakistan since Inzamam, Yousuf, and Younis.

However, expectations of him need to be real and not unfair as they have been.

The Kohlis, Roots, Smiths, and Williamsons of the world did not become who they are after 60 odd ODIs. Babar's international career is only 3-4 years old and no batsman ever became a great inside their first 3-4 years.

Look at how the rest of the current 'greats' and past 'modern greats' fared in their first 68 ODI innings.


Barring Hashim Amla, Babar is well ahead of the rest of the pack after 68 ODI innings. In terms of runs, in terms of average, in terms of strike rate, and in terms of ODI centuries.

Give him time, and he will convert more 50s into 100s and win more matches for Pakistan. He has got a long road ahead of him and a lot of time too.

In Birmingham, Babar brought up his 10th ODI century and it was definitely his best ODI century till date. He walked in to bat in the 4th over and stayed there till the last. He dominated the bowling and he finished the game off for Pakistan.

Under pressure, chasing a target, Babar showed the world his best.

It was a treat to watch this knock from the stands.

Babar's celebration when he got to the hundred showed what it meant to him. And the crowd's reaction showed what it meant to them.



The Birmingham experience was one of the best in ground experiences I have had watching cricket. It was by far the best Pakistani crowd I have ever seen. It was better than Lord's, better than Old Trafford, better than Sharjah and Dubai, better than Gaddafi Stadium.

The atmosphere was just awesome.

Surely Pakistan dominating the game made it all the more exciting for Pakistan fans, but I could feel the belief and excitement among everyone on the train from London and on the walk to Edgbaston from the Birmingham train station.

It was a magnificent day out and I was totally blown away by Babar Azam and the Birmingham crowd!

Pakistan can do wonders if they elect to do the right thing after winning the toss!

It was the third consecutive toss that Sarfraz Ahmed won in this ICC World Cup 2019, but it was only the first time he elected to bat, something he should have done against both Australia and India.

In the week leading up to Pakistan's match against South Africa at Lord's, the team was ridiculed and the captain was mocked endlessly. Sarfraz Ahmed's yawn memes went viral and stories of Shoaib Malik's sheesha loving sub-group spread like wildfire.

Despite all this drama and criticism, Pakistan fought back like they always do, showcasing the resilience of the team and the nation.

This Lord's win was special, and Lord's was magical!

Haris Sohail played the innings of his life. I have never seen him bat like this. He has a career strike rate of 85, at Lord's he batted at a strike rate of 150! For someone who had been left on the bench till now, to come back and bat in this manner, was quite awesome.

Aamir, Wahab, and Shadab produced some excellent bowling and ensured that South Africa were never on top. No one defends totals the way Pakistani bowlers do and to watch it live in action is arguably one of the best experiences one can have.

Pakistan's win was surely special, but Lord's was made magical by all the Pakistanis who had flown to London from all around the world.

Lord's was a sea of green and it was quite amazing meeting old friends from LUMS and Abu Dhabi, enjoying the game with my friends from Dubai and London, and making new friends!

The day started with giving an interview to Cricinfo. The passion and belief you see among us is unparalleled.

We were interviewed outside Lord's by two of my favorite cricket writers - Osman Samiuddin and Sharda Ugra.


At the Lord's gate I met two of my college friends with whom I had gone through LUMS two decades ago. One had flown in from San Francisco and the other from Karachi.



























Lord's is a magnificent stadium. It has to be, after all it is the Home of Cricket. Its beauty, the flowers in particular, was pointed out by another old friend from LUMS with whom I had experienced the heartbreak of the World Cup in 1999.


The Lord's media center is fascinating. Probably the best media center at a cricket ground. Here are two of us who flew in from Dubai and one who flew in from San Francisco, with the media center in the background.


Nothing made this Lord's win more special than to witness it with my oldest and closest friend with whom I have gone through every single World Cup since 1996!


I even met guys that I grew up with in Abu Dhabi in the 90s!


And more people that I went to LUMS with twenty years ago...


Ofcourse our London host who moved from Dubai to London just to make this trip possible was also there.


As were two little boys, a four year old and a 3-month old, both experiencing their first ever cricket match inside a stadium. What a match as their first, and what a ground to do it at!


After watching matches together at each others homes, at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, at Premadasa International Cricket Stadium, and The Oval, the Dubai boys have now added Lord's to the list as well.


It was an impressive victory for Pakistan and it was made all the more special by witnessing it together.


It was witnessed not only with old friends, but also with new ones! Here is the lost from San Francisco, the Midlife Crisis Cricket Club - whom I have been chatting away with on Whatsapp Groups and whom I met for the first time yesterday. What a passionate lot of Pakistan cricket fans.


Pakistan's victory at Lord's was special no doubt, but what made Lord's truly magical yesterday was all the Pakistan fans who believed in the team, who flew in for the match from different parts of the world, who witnessed a special knock from Haris Sohail and fiery spells from Aamir, Wahab, and Shadab.

Many said that Pakistan's World Cup will start after the match with India, and it truly has started with this win over South Africa.

We still believe that we can make it to the semifinals and we all will be there in Birmingham on Wednesday to get Pakistan one step closer to the knockout stages.

Come on PAKISTAAAAAN!

Jason Holder's run-a-ball fifty keeps West Indies in the chase #AUSvWI | #CWC19 | https://t.co/nX3TvuEgx4 pic.twitter.com/QiAtG8QFPa

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) June 6, 2019

The men in maroon had a mere 68 to get off 60 balls with five wickets in hand against Australia but somehow ended up losing by 15 runs. Going into the last ten overs with the run rate at a fraction above six an over and wickets in hand is a position of utmost power and really, one that teams should be winning from.

The changing room would have been a lonely place for Andre Russell in particular, after he sparked the collapse with a few very ill-advised strokes. The T20 star can’t put a foot wrong in India whilst competing in the IPL but the World Cup is a very different animal that requires big players to play sensibly in order to be revered. Russell let himself down and ultimately cost his team a memorable victory over a very decent Australian side.

That said, the West Indies look like they may sneak their way into the top four, it’s early days still but there shouldn’t be much for them to fear. Granted, at 9/1 in cricket betting to win the World Cup it looks a stretch to go all the way but semi-final qualification is very much on should they learn from their mistakes against the Aussies.

Andre Russell goes!

He had looked in serious touch, but tries to go big one time too many, and Glenn Maxwell holds onto another brilliant catch running back!

Don't go anywhere folks. This one's so tense, Maxi can't even watch!#CWC19#AUSvWI LIVE 👇 https://t.co/riLpupROEA pic.twitter.com/c0adAT5SoN

— Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) June 6, 2019

Part of the problem the Windies have and will need to find a way to tone down is that they are arguably blessed with too many talents. Some of their big-name players would walk into any team at this World Cup if it were based purely on ability. However, the opposition bowlers have by now registered that the Islanders are susceptible to falling into traps and there is a feeling in other camps that they just can’t help themselves when the ball is tossed up or bowled short of a length.

This is where the Windies need so desperately need to apply themselves, in order for them to negotiate the end of an innings safely. With a bit of concentration, they will be extremely hard to eliminate at the 2019 World Cup.

Pakistan vs India is the biggest a cricket match can get; Pakistan vs India at an ICC World Cup is the grandest stage of them all.


It is the first match to sell out, it is the first match that 90% of the cricket viewing public look out for when the schedule is released, it is the most anticipated match of any tournament (let alone a World Cup), and it is the most watched match at a Cricket World Cup.

The players always talk about how it is like any other match for them.

It is not true. It is all talk.

The pressure, the excitement, the nerves are all multiplied for the cricketers.

Performing against either team can make careers; not performing can destroy them. Ask Chetan Sharma.


For the fans, it is all about bragging rights.

"Hum ne Pakistan ko haraya, hamare liye yehi World Cup ke barabar hai" - heard in India in 1992.

For fans living in India and Pakistan, it is quite different than for expats living in a place like the UAE or the UK for example.

Residents of India and Pakistan do not interact with each other (besides on social media).

For us expats, it is a totally different ball game.

Schools, offices, apartment buildings, residential communities, shopping malls, restaurants, supermarkets, cinema halls, wherever you go, Pakistanis and Indians coexist.

You have to face each other before and after the match. Sometimes even during the match!

But it never gets hostile. We coexist. Always have.


I grew up in Abu Dhabi. Had a bunch of Indian friends in school. My father had Indian colleagues. We had Indian neighbors. We studied together, we partied together, played cricket together, watched cricket together.

We coexisted throughout all those Sharjah Cup matches.

We had a school cricket team, which had Pakistanis and Indians. We used to play a lot of Pakistan vs India matches against each other, but against other schools we united as one. We were one hell of a great team.


The school team captain was Pakistani. The Vice Captain was Indian. We selected together, strategized together, played together.

The openers were a Pakistani and an Indian. Boy what an opening combination it was.


There were 4 Indians in the top 6 of the batting order. The opening pace attack was Pakistani - a left arm and a right arm pace bowler!

One fond memory of those days is of the Independence Cup played in India in 1997.

It was Pakistan vs India at Chennai.

We watched the match at an Indian friend's house. A dozen Indians and a dozen Pakistanis under one roof.





Saeed Anwar created a new world record - the highest ODI score of 194.

Pakistan won the game and our gracious Indian host treated us to KFC after the match.

We coexisted quite happily.

A decade later, I went to study at Manchester Business School. I was one of two Pakistanis in the Class of 2011. There were 30 odd Indians.

My flatmate was an Indian.

His parents were terrified that he was sharing an apartment with a Pakistani.

We laughed about it. We still laugh about it.


I captained our class team in the MBA Cricket League.

I was one of the only two Pakistanis in the squad. There were 10 Indians.

We played together happily.


A year later, I represented the MBS Cricket Team as an alumni and played under an Indian captain. Again, happily!


In another country, a decade after leaving high school, once again, we studied together, partied together, lived together, ate together, played cricket together, and watched it together.

I watched the entire ICC World Cup 2011 with Indians, including the Mohali semifinal between Pakistan and India.

Even today, we talk about it.

I am on a whatsapp group with all those Indians and the banter still hasn't stopped. It never will. But we will continue to coexist, happily.

Living and working in Dubai, I have so many more such examples of us Pakistanis and Indians coexisting.

There is no animosity. We work together. We play together. We travel together. We watch Pakistan vs India together.

Which we shall do on Sunday 16 June 2019 as well!

I am traveling to Manchester for the match.

The place I have so many fond memories of. The place I made really good friends. Including Indian friends.


The place where Pakistan will take on India at Old Trafford!

It can't get better, nor bigger, than this. Not for me at least.

This coming weekend, Manchester will be a sea of green and blue and the city will be buzzing like never before.

To all my Indian friends - all the best!

To all my Pakistan friends - jeetega bhai jeetega, PAKISTAAAN jeetega!

Pakistan has lost every single World Cup match against India. All 6 of them. Two of them knock outs.

But you know what will happen on Sunday?

Virat Kohli will become the first ever Indian captain to lose a World Cup match to Pakistan.

And after the game, we will continue to coexist. In Manchester, In Dubai, and world over. Happily!

PAKISTAN ZINDABAD!

It was poor. Really really poor from Pakistan.

This loss hurt more than the loss to the West Indies, who totally outplayed Pakistan. Against Australia, Pakistan just gave it way. Multiple times.

Overcast conditions. Green top. Any international captain would have opted to bowl first. But why doesn't Pakistan's team management understand that they can't chase? Why don't they know that their only winning formula is to put runs on the board and defend.

Maybe they were scared that their batsmen would skittle out on a green top. Maybe they felt their pacers would blow Australia away.

I can live with this decision however. The way Mohammed Aamir bowled, it was a bowl first wicket.

Poor Shaheen is too inexperienced and he was playing after a long gap. Perhaps they should have given the new ball to Wahab.

The fielding didn't help. The catching let Pakistan down.

Had those two aspects of the game been perfect, Pakistan's decision to bowl first would have been justified.

But it was poor. Dropped chances, misfields, overthrows. It all let Pakistan down.

Nevertheless, restricting Australia to 307 was a tremendous comeback.

Aamir bowled his heart out. Wahab is on another level this World Cup. Shaheen redeemed himself in later spells.

307 was chaseable. Or was it? With Pakistan, no score seems chaseable really.

The chase did not start ideally. Fakhar left early. But Imam and Babar made it look really easy.

After Babar left to a shot he should not have played, Hafeez took over and made it look even easier.

136-2 in 25 overs. An 80 run partnership with Imam and Hafeez looking settled.

It should have been done.

But then, as it happens so often, Pakistan were reduced to 160-6 in no time!

Imam, like Babar, should have left the ball alone.

Hafeez should have smashed the full toss out of the park.

Shoaib Malik and Asif Ali should have been more cautious.

Yet they weren't.

Why, why do they keep doing this to us?

It was so easy!

Despite all this, Sarfraz, Hasan Ali, and Wahab Riaz fought like tigers. They got Pakistan to within 50 runs of the target at run a ball.

What could have been will always remain just that.

We didn't really expect Pakistan to beat Australia, but that was the case against England too. Had Pakistan been destroyed the way they were against West Indies, it would not have hurt so much.

They got so close, they made a match out of it, and they were in total control.

How could they let it slip?

This now leaves Pakistan with only 3 points from its 4 matches. With 5 more to go, they can't afford to lose even one. Mathematically, they can still go through if they win 4 out of the last 5, but that would require other results going Pakistan's way.

Better to do it yourself then rely on other teams. Who knows whose side fortune is on. Every year can't be 1992.

I let go of the West Indies loss very quickly, and was quietly confident against England.

But this one, against Australia, I am finding difficult to let go. I hope the players the players are not in the same boat. They need to shrug this off quickly and be geared up for the match of their lives.

Against India on Sunday!

For Sarfraz and Co., it is time to bring out the cornered tigers ... Come on Pakistan!

I am not sure why we are looking for explanations for Pakistan's performance at the ICC World Cup 2019. It is perhaps our own shortcoming of not understanding the beauty of Pakistan cricket, which defies all logic, rationale, and sense.

There is no system or management in Pakistan. There is just immense raw talent, which creates magic when it clicks in unison.

Like it did in Nottingham last night.

For a team that:

last won an ODI in January
lost 11 successive ODIs
lost a warm up match against the lowest ranked team in the World Cup (Afghanistan)
is going through its worst run in its entire ODI history
was bundled out for 105 in their World Cup opening game

... the last thing they needed was to come up against the world number one ODI team, the tournament hosts, the World Cup favorites!

A miracle was required to topple a team like England.


Maybe it was Wasim bhai's birthday that inspired Pakistan...


But most definitely it was batting first that allowed Pakistan a chance to win the game.


Had England batted first, I do not think Pakistan would have managed to chase any total north of 300. And England would have got a lot more than that.

As soon as Pakistan's openers walked out to bat, it all clicked for the boys in green.

Fakhar and Imam started confidently. Their opening partnership laid the perfect platform. Babar and Hafeez continued the good work with Hafeez in particular in his element striking it at a strike rate of 140. Sarfaraz finished it off really well despite not timing all his shots perfectly. And each one of Asif Ali's, Wahab's, Hasan's, and Shadab's swipes for 6s and 4s helped Pakistan march towards a commanding 348.

Maybe it was England's nerves, or maybe it was just Pakistan's day, but good fortune was definitely on our side while we were batting.

Jason Roy dropped a sitter, Morgan threw at the wrong end, England botched up their only review, there were overthrows and misfields, and then some.

We surely needed the luck to continue while we bowled, as 348 on the board was just half the job done.

The luck wasn't there though. Root was dropped at first slip of Aamir (story of his life), Sarfaraz dropped Moeen Ali later in the day, there was one more drop in the outfield, and a review was wasted.

There aren't many ODIs in the history of the game where a side with two centurions loses a match. It happened to Pakistan recently, and last night it happened to England.

At 118-4, Pakistan were confident, but Root and Buttler almost took it away from us. They kept the momentum going and remained within reach of the required run rate. Their partnership threatened Pakistan's chances for a long time as they put on 130 runs in just 17 overs.

Both got centuries and both fell soon after.

It was Shadab Khan once again who provided Pakistan the breakthrough, like he had done at the start of the innings.

And then 6 overs later, Mohammad Aamir sealed the deal for Pakistan as he snared Jos Buttler!

Or so we thought.

There was one more twist to come.

Aamir gave away 15 runs in the 47th over leaving England 38 to get off the final 3 overs with Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes smashing it around.

But then in the very next over, Wahab Riaz ensured victory for Pakistan as he struck twice in two deliveries sending Moeen and Woakes back to the pavilion.

Just like it is hard to understand Pakistan's cricket performances, it is hard to understand Wahab Riaz. Is he good? or is he bad? He gave away 82 runs yesterday. But he also picked up 3 crucial wickets including Johnny Bairstow.

Wahab may forever remain an enigma, but one thing I am quite sure about. Come what may, he turns up for Pakistan every World Cup!


Wahab bowled his heart out. The passion and determination showed on his face. He was part of two more dismissals besides his 3 wickets. He totally rocked it.

Aamir bowled magnificently, besides that one over at the end. He was unlucky not to have Root right at the start. He got Pakistan the much needed wicket of Buttler. Shadab was fabulous with the new ball snaring Roy early, and then followed that up later with the key wicket of Root. Hasan Ali went wicketless but his final spell at the death was a treat to watch. He bowled with pace, got it to reverse swing, and kept the pressure on.

Pakistan, in an effort to shore up their batting, had left Imad Wasim out leaving the 5th bowler duties to be shared by Hafeez and Shoaib Malik.

And boy did they deliver!

Their combined 10 overs went for 53 runs, less than the tally of each of the frontline bowlers. They picked up a wicket each too - Morgan and Stokes respectively!

Everyone contributed. It was a collective effort. A true team effort. It was magic.

There is no explaining this. This is Pakistan Cricket.

One day we get bowled out for the lowest score of this World Cup, on another we smash the highest total of this World Cup.

We lose to the two lowest ranked teams of this World Cup, the two teams that had to play a tournament to qualify for this World Cup. Then we turn up to beat the number one ranked ODI team, the tournament hosts, the World Cup favorites.

There is no explaining this. There is just savoring this (for now) and reminiscing this (later).

This is the beauty of Pakistan Cricket.