In Champions Trophy 2013, Pakistan lost all their group matches. In 2015, Pakistan had to beat Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka in order to qualify for Champions Trophy 2015. When they lost their first group match to India, Pakistan had lost 6 successive Champions Trophy matches.

Now they are in the Final.

Only Pakistan can take you through such a rollercoaster ride.

Cricket doesn't get bigger than Pakistan vs India. When it is a final of a tournament, it is even bigger. And when it is a final of an ICC tournament, it is the biggest!

Pakistan and India have met thrice in knock out matches in an ICC tournament and all three matches have resulted in heartbreaks for Pakistan's fans. The pressure of all the heartbreaks caused in Bangalore '96, Johannesburg '07, and Mohali '11 is on Sarfraz Ahmed and his young team.

Over 100 million fans will be praying for this Pakistan team to achieve what Wasim, Waqar, Inzamam, Miandad, Misbah, Afridi, and Younis could not over the past 20 years.

The odds however are heavily in India's favor.

Even though the record reads 2-2 in ICC Champions Trophy, it is 3-0 to India in ICC knock out games, and 12-2 to India in all ICC tournaments.

On top of that, India arguably have the best batting line up, not only in this Champions Trophy, but in the world.

Moreover, they are led by the world's best ODI batsman whose last 6 innings against Pakistan in ICC tournaments look like this:

78* at WorldT20 2012
22* at Champions Trophy 2013
36* at World T20 2014
107 at World Cup 2015
55* at World T20 2016
81* at Champions Trophy 2017

How do you tame a batsman like that? How do you tame a batting line up that is leading the runs charts in the Champions Trophy? How do you tame a team that you have not beaten in any form of the game in over 3 years? How do you tame a team that trounced you by 124 runs less than two weeks ago?

Sarfraz and Micky Arthur will be pondering about the same questions.

The answers are Pakistan's bowlers. It is them who have got Pakistan this far, and it is them who can take them to the trophy.

Hasan Ali is the leading wicket taker in this Champions Trophy, while Junaid Khan, who was not played against India, is among the top 5.

In a tournament, which was billed as high scoring with 300 runs considered a par score, Pakistan has 7 bowlers who have an economy rate of below 5 in this Champions Trophy.

Three of Pakistan's bowlers have a bowling average below 20 in this Champions Trophy.

Three of Pakistan's bowlers are picking up wickets every 4 overs in this Champion Trophy.

Pakistan's bowlers have restricted teams to under 240 in three successive games in a tournament where other bowlers are being smashed around for 300+ scores.

Only India managed to thrash Pakistan's bowlers around; however the story may have been different had Pakistan played the right team (Junaid instead of Wahab) and had Pakistan not dropped two key catches.

Bowling is Pakistan's strength, it has been forever, and the way they have leveraged on this strength in this tournament has been phenomenal. Realizing their limited batting capability, Pakistan ensured their bowlers restricted oppositions to a total that gave them chaseable targets within Pakistan's range.

This is how they will tame India. It is the only way.

Junaid Khan has played 5 ODIs against India, in which he has picked up 8 wickets at an average of 20. In the series in 2012, Junaid snared Kohli in each of the 3 ODIs for single digit scores.

Makes you wonder why they preferred Wahab over him in the group game.

Junaid will be key for Pakistan. As will be Aamer and Hasan Ali.

Pakistan's only chance on Sunday is to put a brake on India's batting juggernaut. If they can do that, then Pakistan will join India, Sri Lanka, and the West Indies in an elite group of nations who have won all ICC trophies - The World Cup, World T20, and Champions Trophy.

In the summer of 2009, Pakistan unleashed a teenage left arm fast bowler on the international stage who took the world by storm. By the end of the summer of 2010, with his international career barely a year old, Pakistan's teen sensation had shocked the world with the disgrace he brought to his country.

Mohammad Amir's career stocks fell just as fast as they had risen.

It has been more than three years since Amir played for Pakistan, yet hardly a match goes by without the fans missing his presence in the Pakistan XI. Till date majority of the Pakistan fans miss him, would like to see him play for Pakistan again, and are eagerly anticipating his return in two years, if not sooner.

Amir has created such a euphoria with his spellbinding performances that his aura continues to remind fans of what could have been.

This euphoria is also the reason why the rise of another left arm fast bowler from Pakistan, who came on to the international scene about a year after Amir left it, has gone unnoticed.

Junaid Khan has now been playing for Pakistan for over two years, and he is by far the best fast bowler to play for them for a long time. He has been spearheading Pakistan's pace attack for a while now and some of the performances that he has given, especially in ODIs, deserve special praise.

Something that I feel he has not been given enough of.

Junaid Khan is an inspiration for up and coming young pacers. He is not only the best fast bowler in Pakistan, but arguably one of the best in the world currently.

Junaid's performance in the second ODI against Sri Lanka in Dubai left me awestruck. He bowled with intensity, with the firepower once associated with the two Ws, and single handedly brought Pakistan back into the game.

The performance also got me wondering just how good is Junaid Khan.

A comparison with Mohammad Amir shows that Junaid has been just as good, if not better, than the disgraced teen sensation, and yet he has not been applauded the same way that Amir was.


Junaid has definitely been superior in ODIs for Pakistan. One can only wonder how it would have been if these two left armers were currently spearheading Pakistan's attack.

A comparison with Pakistan's greatest fast bowlers, including the two Ws, Shoaib Akhtar, and Imran Khan, shows just how well Junaid Khan's career has progressed in ODIs.



Only Waqar Younis took more wickets than Junaid has in 39 ODIs; only 4 more wickets. And only Waqar Younis had a better strike rate than Junaid has after 39 ODIs; only 2 fewer deliveries required to pick up a wicket.

Junaid's relatively higher average and economy rate can be attributed to the playing conditions these days, which are far more conducive to high scores than in previous times.

Based on just this, Junaid is surely one of the best fast bowlers to emerge from Pakistan. He is only 23, and if he can sustain this form and fitness then he will have a long career, which will place him among the very best produced by Pakistan.

To put this into perspective at the global level, Junaid Khan's ODI bowling average of 22.93 is only bettered by Saeed Ajmal (22.87) and Ajantha Mendis (20.82) among the current ODI players with over 50 wickets.

There is no pacer in the world among the current players who has a better average than Junaid Khan.

Those players include Dale Steyn (25.49), Steven Finn (27.74), James Andersen (29.11), Lonwabo Tsotsobe (24.96), Morne Morkel (23.54), and Mitchell Johnson (25.37) - the fast bowlers part of the ICC rankings' Top 10 ODI bowlers.

Does this not make Junaid Khan one of the best fast bowlers in the world right now?

If you still need convincing, hear this...

Junaid Khan's strike rate of 27.6 in ODIs is the second best strike rate in ODIs ever (only Shaun Tait's 27.2 is better) for all bowlers who have taken a minimum of 50 ODI wickets.

While Amir might have taken the world of fast bowling by storm, it is Junaid who is slowly but surely making it his own!

"In other words, submission. Because, finally, what Pakistan are doing in these moments is asking you to submit. They are asking you, opponent and spectator, to submit to their reality, their chaos, their unplanning, their spur of the moment, their pox, their talent, their wretchedness, their beauty, their spirit." - Osman Samiuddin

Last night's second one day international between Pakistan and South Africa was an unbelievable game of cricket.

It was a game that reminded the Pakistani fans of their wins in the 90s when Wasim and Waqar would bring the team back from no where.

It was a game that reminded the Pakistani fans to believe again.

It was a game that made the Pakistani fans fall in love with their cricketers again.

To beat South Africa in South Africa in any form of the game is an achievement. To beat them in a series is a bigger achievement. And then to think that you have become the first ever team from the subcontinent to win a series in South Africa, is just overwhelming!

That is an achievement and a half for this Pakistan team, which not very long ago was being thrashed by South Africa in ODIs and T20s.

It has been an amazing comeback for the Boys in Green!

Everything worked yesterday for Pakistan.

A century partnership between Ahmed Shehzad and Sohaib Maqsood at a run rate of almost 6 per over provided them with a platform to fire from. Umar Akmal and Bilawal Bhatti, who very soon will move above Afridi in the batting order, finished the innings perfectly.

262 in 45 overs was a daunting target. It was going to be difficult for South Africa, especially considering that they were up against an in form bowling unit.

Junaid Khan gave Pakistan the perfect start, removing Smith early and keep the run rate in check. Even though Amla and De Kock kept it together for South Africa, their scoring rate of 4-4.5 an over never threatened Pakistan.

When Afridi came on to bowl, Amla and De Kock were well settled but the required run rate was steadily creeping towards 7 an over. Afridi, who has been superb with the ball against South Africa, applied more pressure and accounted for De Kock and Kallis in quick succession.

119-3 in 26. 144 required in 19 overs at 7.58. Game Over?

It looked like it, but AB De Villiers had different things in mind.

ABD went about his job and made the chase look like a cake walk.

The only time South Africa looked like they were in the hunt was when ABD was out there in the middle.

He smashed the bowling around, toyed with Pakistan's premier spinner, hit out against Pakistan's most economical bowler, and looked to take the game away from the Greens.

During the course of his innings, ABD brought down the run rate from over 7.5 to below 5.5.

It was a crushing match winning knock by the South African captain. But only just.

When ABD fell to a good catch by Afridi on the boundary, South Africa were left with only 36 runs to get from 38 deliveries with 6 wickets in hand. Amla was batting on 86 and JP Duminy was walking out to the crease.

It should have been like a walk in the park for South Africa. And it seemed it would be as Amla and Duminy went about their business with ease.

The match seemed lost for Pakistan.

35 from 36, 31 from 30, 26 from 24, 20 from 18, 11 from 12.

Just when it looked like it was game over for Pakistan, Saeed Ajmal delivered a counter punch like no other in the penultimate over of the match.

Amla and Duminy managed only two singles off the first 3 deliveries, and then Ajmal bowled two dot balls.

9 needed from 7. Pressure on South Africa. Ajmal had bowled beautifully.

Off Ajmal's final delivery, Amla went for the big one towards mid wicket. The ball was in the air and two Pakistani fielders were charging towards it. Misbah looked anxiously as Hafeez positioned himself to take the catch, which he held on to. It was a difficult one, but Hafeez remained calm and sent Amla back for a well made 98.

9 needed from the final over of the match.

Junaid Khan had the ball. David Miller was on strike. Duminy at the other end.

Now, it was any body's game.

Miller managed a single of the first delivery and then Duminy heaved the second ball towards mid wicket in the hope of getting a big one early in the over.

Umar Amin ran towards the ball and dived to take a catch inches from the ground. It was a superb effort to catch that in a pressure situation. I know the scorecard says Anwar Ali, even the commentators said Anwar Ali, but it was Umar Amin who caught that ball to send Duminy back.

8 from 4. Pakistan were truly and surely back in it.

Junaid Khan bowled a beautiful final over. His yorkers were spot on and he gave the batsmen no space at all. Reminded me of Wasim bhai. The Pakistani fielders were prowling the boundaries and the square like tigers. The catching was immaculate.

Junaid gave nothing away and Pakistan scraped home with a 1 run win!

A 1 run margin does justice to the sort of cricket that was played last night. But it doesn't do justice to the magical final over bowled by Junaid Khan. The final delivery went for 4 byes, which is why the end result was a 1 run victory.
The last two overs was what Osman Samiuddin has termed "The Haal of Pakistan". According to Osman, the Haal of Pakistan is described in the following words:

"In other words, submission. Because, finally, what Pakistan are doing in these moments is asking you to submit. They are asking you, opponent and spectator, to submit to their reality, their chaos, their unplanning, their spur of the moment, their pox, their talent, their wretchedness, their beauty, their spirit."

It was truly unbelievable. Pakistan pulled of an amazing win. One that should have been easier had it not been for some superlative batting by AB De Villiers.

In either case, it was a magical victory for Pakistan who became the first ever team from the subcontinent to win a series in South Africa.

Reliving the events from last night, and it still feels like pure magic.

Maza aa gaya Pakistaaaan!

A series victory typically covers up a team's weaknesses as the focus then lies on how the series was won, which players performed exceptionally, and generally how good the leadership and management was.

The year 2011 was all about Pakistan's resurgence as a cricket team as we witnessed Pakistan go undefeated in all test series, reach the semi finals of the World Cup, and end the year with the best W:L ratio in ODIs and the second best in tests.

The icing on the cake came at the start of 2012 when Pakistan whitewashed the world's number 1 test team, England, 3-0 in the test series held in the UAE.

While 2012 had started with Pakistan clean sweeping the world's test champions 3-0, 2013 has started with Pakistan defeating the world's ODI champions 2-1!

Having lost ODIs to India in 2010 (Asia Cup), 2011 (World Cup), and 2012 (Asia Cup) and no bilateral ties between the teams, an ODI win over India had been a long time coming. Since 2009, Pakistan had not beaten India in an ODI, which makes this 2-1 series victory even sweeter.

I have discussed numerous reasons for Pakistan's success on Well Pitched in the past including Misbah Ul Haq, Shahid Afridi, the influence of Waqar Younis and Mohsin Khan, the non-interference of Zaka Ashraf, and a stable batting line up, among other things.

Here are three more reasons that have added to Pakistan's success in recent times, and more so in the just concluded ODI series against India.

1. PACE ATTACK IS BACK !

India's "world-class batting line up" was completely exposed by Pakistan's newly found new ball pair of Junaid Khan and the 7-foot tall Mohammad Irfan.

Gambhir, Sehwag, Kohli, Yuvraj had no answer to the pace, bounce, and swing generated by Junaid and Irfan throughout the 3-match series and were found wanting every time they were at the crease.

29-5, 95-5, and 111-6 are not the sort of scores one expects from an Indian batting line up playing on Indian pitches. In England or Australia, one might even think that its possible, but in India? Never have the Indian batsmen looked so helpless in front of any bowling attack on their own turf.

Virat Kohli, who amassed century after century for India over the past year and a half, and mauled Pakistan in the Asia Cup and the World T20, was left looking like a school cricketer by Junaid Khan.

Kohli managed scores of 0, 6, and 7 in the 3 ODIs and each time lost his wicket to Junaid Khan. Yuvraj Singh managed 2, 9, and 23; while Gautam Gambhir managed 8, 11, and 15. Virender Sehwag, who was dropped for the 3rd ODI, scored 4 and 31.

Pakistan's new ball pair has not looked as potent as Junaid & Irfan since the days of Aamer & Asif, which was over two and a half years ago.

From Wasim-Waqar to Shoaib Akhtar to Aamer-Asif, Pakistan have finally found two genuine fast bowlers that will trouble batsmen world over. Their combination has hurt India badly and from what we have witnessed, there is a lot more to come.

The wickets column might not look that bright for Irfan, but it has been his control and the pressure that he has applied from one end, which enabled Junaid to pick up all those wickets. They both worked extremely well in tandem and didn't provide any breathing space to the batsmen.


Junaid ended the 3-match series as the joint leading wicket taker with 8 wickets at an average of 12.4 and an economy rate of 3.67. Those are absolutely magnificent figures for a pacer on Indian pitches. The fact that he took as many wickets as Saeed Ajmal goes to show how effective Junaid was during the series.

Except for one, all of Junaid's wickets were of top order batsmen: Kohli (3 times), Sehwag, Gambhir, Yuvraj, Rohit Sharma, and Ishant Sharma.

At 23, Pakistan have found a potent new ball weapon; and he has a great partner in Mohammad Irfan.

Here's hoping that neither falls prey to injuries, dope, or spot fixing!

2. OUR SPINNERS ARE THE BEST IN THE WORLD

Saeed Ajmal is the top ranked bowler in the world in ODIs, while Mohammad Hafeez is ranked number two. With the world's two best ODI bowlers controlling the middle overs for Pakistan, any batting side will find it difficult to maintain any sort of momentum.



Ajmal and Hafeez are the ideal bowlers to come on after Junaid and Irfan have softened up the batsmen. Pakistan's bowling attack has once again found that magical combination of 5 attacking components where each one of them is a genuine wicket taker.

If Junaid or Irfan don't get you, Gul will. And if Gul doesn't, Ajmal or Hafeez will.

Pakistan is at its most dangerous when it plays attacking cricket, and its current crop of bowlers know no other way.

The quality of Pakistan's bowlers can be judged from the fact that Wahab Riaz, Anwar Ali, Raza Hasan, Abdur Rehman, and Shahid Afridi are not even a part of Pakistan's first choice bowling attack!

3. BEST OPENING PAIR IN THE MAKING

In Mohammad Hafeez and Nasir Jamshed, Pakistan have found arguably their best opening pair ever.

No batsman has dominated Pakistan's opening slot in all three versions of the game the way Mohammad Hafeez has in the past 3 years. At the same time, no Pakistan opening batsmen has looked as dominating at the crease as Nasir Jamshed since days of Saeed Anwar.

And together, they have formed an explosive pair who have notched up 4 century partnerships in the past year - more than any other set of Pakistan openers. Saeed Anwar and Aamir Sohail, thought of as Pakistan's best opening pair ever, managed 3 century stands in 10 years.

In only a year of opening together, Hafeez and Jamshed have put on 760 runs for the opening stand at a phenomenal average of 84.4 in 9 innings. That is the 11th highest runs tally for a Pakistan opening pair, the highest ever average, and they also boast of the second highest ever opening partnership for Pakistan - 224 against India in the Asia Cup last year.

Not only are Hafeez and Jamshed one of the best opening combinations for Pakistan, they are the leading opening pair in world cricket in ODIs over the past year.


Most runs together, highest average, highest opening partnership, most century stands - Hafeez and Jamshed stand above all other opening pairs in ODIs. Better than Watson & Warner, better than Amla & Smith, better than Cook & Pietersen, better than Dilshan & Jayawardene!

It has been a great start to the year for Pakistan, however a bigger test, the greatest test in recent times, awaits them in South Africa. I believe that we stand a good chance to compete strongly against South Africa given the potency of our bowling and the increasing stability of our batting.

Pakistan's cricketing rise over the past two years is a story for the movie makers. This story was considered complete with victory over England last year, but this victory over India has made it all the more sweeter!