We have already discussed the unfortunate decision to replace Sarfaraz Ahmed as captain of the T20 team. A team that he had taken to the top of the ICC T20 Rankings.

Before Sarfaraz was replaced, he had to contend with the inclusion of Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Akmal in his T20 squad for the series against Sri Lanka.

Instead of blooding fresh faces at home in conditions known to local players, Misbah Ul Haq's selection committee decided to bring in tried, tested, and failed players.

Who failed once again.

As a result, Pakistan lost the series 3-0 and Sarfaraz Ahmed was sacked!

Pakistan's two senior most cricketers - Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez - were unavailable (with the PCB's permission) for the T20 series due to their CPL commitments.

So fine you needed to replace them but why bring in Shehzad and Umar when other promising prospects are available?

What is even more disturbing is that for a tough tour to Australia, Misbah's selection committee has not only decided to change the captain of the T20 team, they have chosen to ignore Malik and Hafeez, and have selected uncapped and untried batsmen like Khushdil Shah and Imam Ul Haq respectively.

With all due respect to Imam Ul Haq, who I believe is one of Pakistan's best batsmen in Tests and ODIs, I really do not think that his game is suited to T20 cricket.

Khushdil Shah is also a promising middle order batsman with a penchant for power hitting, but he really should have been tried at home against Sri Lanka. The selectors are not doing him any favors by sending him to Australia for a first taste of international cricket.

But what have Malik and Hafeez done wrong?


Since The World T20 in 2016, Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez have been Pakistan's leading batsmen in T20s, after the newly elected captain Babar Azam.

Malik is in fact the second highest run scorer, behind Babar, during this period.

Hafeez is the only other batsman from Pakistan, besides Babar and Malik, to average in the 40s.

Their performances with the bat, and the ball, and in the field, have contributed immensely towards Pakistan's number 1 ranking in the world.

Not only for Pakistan, but both Malik and Hafeez have been among the best in the world in T20s over the past 3 years.


Malik is among the top 10 run scorers in the world in T20 Internationals in the past 3 years.

His average is the third best among these batsmen, behind Babar and Maxwell. His strike rate is also the third best among these batsmen, behind Maxwell and Munro.

Besides Maxwell and Malik, there are no other batsmen in the world who average above 40 and have a strike rate above 150 in T20 Internationals in the past 3 years.

Mohammad Hafeez is among the only 9 batsmen in the world who have an average above 40 in T20 Internationals in the past 3 years (among top 8 teams with a minimum of 10 innings).

Then why were Malik and Hafeez ignored for the T20 series against Australia?

Shouldn't they be the backbone of Pakistan's World T20 campaign next year?

Should they not get some innings in the conditions where the World T20 will be played in 2020?

What are Misbah and co thinking?

There was absolutely no need to tinker with the T20 team.

Instead Misbah has overhauled a team that was the best in the world!

Unbelievable ...

Last night Pakistan completed their 10th consecutive series win in T20 Internationals.

This run includes wins against England, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Australia, West Indies, a World XI team, and a tri-series involving Australia and Zimbabwe. The streak dates back to September 2016; since then, in over two years, Pakistan have lost only 4 T20  internationals.
I don't know of any team that has had such an outstanding run in T20s.

It is quite remarkable!

Here is a look at the team, the captain, the batsmen, and the bowlers who have made such dominance possible.

THE TEAM
No surprise that Pakistan is the number 1 ranked T20 team in the world, with quite a margin.

They have a whopping win loss ratio of 6.5 over the past 2 years!

I have never seen such a W:L ratio in any form of the game for a period this long. It is miles ahead of all other teams, barring Afghanistan (who largely play the associate nations), making the difference between Pakistan and rest of the teams quite significant.

Pakistan have not only dominated T20 cricket over the past two years; they have been dominating the game since its inception.



























Pakistan have the best W:L ratio in T20 Internationals since the format began (barring Afghanistan). Considering Pakistan have played more T20 Internationals than any other team, that fact is even more impressive.


THE CAPTAIN
September 2016 was when Pakistan played their first T20 International under Sarfraz Ahmed, and despite all the flak and criticism he has faced recently, he has been a star skipper in the shortest format of the game.

Pakistan's remarkable streak in T20 cricket coincides with Sarfraz Ahmed's T20 captaincy and it has made him the most successful T20 captain in the history of the format.

No other captain comes even close to Sarfraz's Win % and W:L ratio in T20Is.


THE BATTING
During this period, since September 2016, Babar Azam is the leading run scorer in all T20 Internationals.

In fact, Babar made his T20 debut during this period and he has been miles ahead of all other batsmen since then.

Shoaib Malik and Fakhar Zaman, who also made his T20 debut during this period, are both among the top 5 runs scorers in T20 Internationals since September 2016.

Babar and Malik, along with Glenn Maxwell, are the only batsmen in T20 Internationals who are averaging above 50 in this golden period of T20 cricket for Pakistan.

Babar Azam has had an amazing run in T20 Internationals. His past 5 scores are:

97*
51
68*
45
50

If it wasn't for that 45, he would have become the first batsman to have 5 consecutive scores of 50 or more in T20Is.

Babar is also on the verge of breaking Virat Kohli's record of reaching a 1,000 runs in 27 T20 innings.

Babar requires another 95 runs in 3 innings to break the record, an opportunity that he will have during the three T20Is against New Zealand over the next one week.

There is another Kohli record that can potentially be broken over the next week.

Fakhar Zaman requires another 101 runs to go past Kohli's record of 641 T20I runs in a calendar year, and he has another 3 innings left in 2018 to make this happen.

Coming back to Babar Azam; he is the only batsman in the world with a batting average of over 50 in T20 Internationals.

That is quite a feat by Babar considering the kind of batsmen he is ahead of.


THE BOWLING
Each match of this just concluded T20I series between Pakistan and Australia had a similar pattern. Pakistan got off to a flying start, stuttered in the middle order ending 20-30 runs short of what they should have got, and bowled and fielded exceptionally to keep Australia well away from the target.

Pakistan's bowling in the shortest format of the game has been outstanding.

Shahid Afridi, who hasn't played the format in two years, is still the leading wicket taker in all T20Is. While Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal, who haven't played T20Is for two and three years respectively, are among the top 4 wicket takers in the history of T20Is.

As for the current crop, during the period since September 2016, Pakistan have 3 bowlers among the top 10 wicket takers in T20 Internationals, with leg spinning allrounder Shadab Khan leading the way.

Pakistan's bowling attack is full of variety comprising left arm pacers, right arm pacers, leg spinners, off spinners, left arm spinners, and the works.

Undoubtedly that makes it quite tough for the opposition.

Pakistan have bowled out teams 30 times in T20Is, which is the most by any team in T20 Internationals.

Quite a record that!


PAKISTAN are no doubt the Kings of T20 cricket and their run over the past two years has been nothing short of phenomenal! They have got the top order, they have got the bowling, and now if they can only find some consistent middle and late order batting they can truly become an invincible T20 Force.

Pakistan's win in the Final of the T20 Tri-Series against Australia cemented their position as the World's number 1 side in T20 Internationals.

It was 2010, Pakistan were the defending T20 Champions, and they were up against Australia in the semi final of the 3rd edition of the ICC World T20 in St. Lucia, West Indies.

Pakistan were one of the favorites to win the title and repeat their 2009 win, and they looked well on their way to a third straight final after posting 191-6 in their 20 overs.

191.

That is the exact same score that Pakistan managed in today's world T20 group game against Australia.

In 2010, it was the Akmal brothers, each of whom managed a 50, who set up Pakistan for a big total.

Today, it was also the Akmal brothers who put together a 96 run partnership to bring Pakistan back into the game after they were 25-2 in 4 overs.

In 2010, Pakistan were well on course to make it to their third straight World T20 final when they had Australia reeling at 105-5 after 12 overs.

But then Cameron White and Mike Hussey went on a wild rampage to give Australia an unlikely win, reaching their target with 1 ball to spare after Hussey smashed three sixes of Ajmal in the final over of the chase.

Saeed Ajmal has gone on record to say that he still thinks about that final over. No one has ever treated Ajmal the way Hussey did in that 2010 semi final.

Till Glen Maxwell today.

Australia started on their chase of 192 today in the worst possible manner, losing both Warner and Watson in the first over of the Australian innings to Zulfiqar Babar, who gave Pakistan the ideal start.

From there Glen Maxwell and Aaron Finch proceeded to destroy Pakistan's bowling, including the magician Saeed Ajmal, hitting him for 25 runs off his first two overs.

While Maxwell and Finch continued to score at over 12 an over, the ghosts of St. Lucia came back to haunt the Pakistan team and the fans.

They put on 118 runs in just 10.4 overs as Maxwell smashed every bowler to all corners of the park. His onslaught also included a 30 run over off Bilawal Bhatti.

When Maxwell departed, Australia were left with only 66 runs to get off 50 deliveries with 7 wickets in hand.

From there, it should have been a walk in the park.

In 2010, it was over number 12 that turned the tide in Australia's favor. Today, it was also over number 12 that turned the tide; but this time in Pakistan's favor as they finally slayed the ghosts of St. Lucia.

I don't really know how I can capture in words what I experienced on Friday night at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, but I'm still going to try. I probably will not do justice to it, but there are moments from that night that need to be captured.

I have no doubt in my mind that I witnessed the best T20 International ever. The Pakistan vs India final of the first World T20 in 2007 was also an unbelievable game, but this Pakistan vs Australia T20 trumps it.

Friday, 7th September 2012 will be remembered for a long long time, and decades later people will talk about that tied T20 game between Pakistan and Australia that was decided of the final delivery of a Super Over.

What made it all the more exciting was the crowd.

20,000 people under one roof cheering the greens on. For the last 30 minutes or so of the match, I could not hear the person next to me. It was that loud!

Phenomenal. Magical. Madness. No words can really describe what it felt like to first witness Abdul Razzaq get the wicket of Patrick Cummins of the final delivery of the match to tie the game and then to witness Umar Akmal scamper to the non striker's end to win the match for Pakistan off the final delivery of the Super Over.


Actually Pakistan had won the game as soon as Cummins bowled a wide. According to the rules, if the Super Over is tied then the team that has hit the most boundaries in the match (including the super over) wins. Pakistan had hit 20, Australia 19.

So that delivery after the wide was not really needed.

But I'm glad it was bowled because winning that game of a wide would not have done justice to the crowd that erupted in the loudest cheer I have ever heard when Dan Christian missed the ball at the non-striker's end and Umar Akmal completed the run that brought Pakistan victory!

There were some truly phenomenal moments in the game, and some that will always be remembered just because I was in the crowd. Here are some (or many) of them:

1. Initial Buzz Kill
Many of us were looking forward to watching Imran Nazir bat. His second ball duck quietened the entire crowd.

2. Cheer of the Day
As soon as Nazir got out, Shahid Afridi ran on to the field with water for Hafeez. The cheer he got from the crowd remained the loudest for the initial stages of the match.

3. Its a Bird, Its a Plane, no its Dan Christian
Hafeez and Jamshed were motoring along when Dan Christian produced one of the most outstanding catches you will ever see. It was the best catch I have ever seen at a stadium. It had all the 20,000 Pakistanis on their feet and applauding.


Even Nasir Jamshed smiled.

Dan Christian is Superman really. He even pulled off another similar stunt and saved a sure shot boundary that had the entire crowd stunned once again.


The catch was shown repeatedly on the big screen at the stadium and every time it was met with an applause.

4. Brotherly Love
The Akmal brothers put on 46 runs for the 4th wicket partnership, and though Umar's contribution was only 13, the way he ran with his elder brother was unlike any other Pakistani pair. They stole singles, converted ones into twos, and upped the tempo at just the right time for Pakistan.


Their understanding in the middle was apparent. Probably for them it felt like just another family game in their back yard.

5. Who says the Crowd only Cheers for Afridi
When Abdul Razzaq walked out to bat in the final over of Pakistan's innings, the Dubai crowd erupted in a cheer that I have only witnessed for Shahid Afridi. I was pleasantly surprised to be honest, but its good to know that people have not forgotten him.

6. Discussion of the Night - Part I
During the17th over of Australia's innings, our section of the crowd broke into a discussion on who would bowl the next three overs. It went something like this...

"Yaar agla Ajmal ko dena chahye"
"Nai nai Hafeez kare khud, phir Ajmal aur Gul ke aakhri dono"
"Buss aakhri Ajmal ko na de, 2010 semi final wala scene na ho jaye"
"Hafeez bahut pita hai aaj, Malik ya Razzaq ko ek over dede"
"Pehle dena chahye tha yaar"
"Malik aur Razzaq bhi pitenge. Captain hai, khud responsibility le aur karaye"

In the meantime, Sohail Tanvir had castled David Hussey, completed his over, and Ajmal had started the 18th over.

7. Who Said Only Footballers Can Fake?
In the 19th over, Saeed Ajmal made a very poor attempt to stop a ball at short fine leg, which resulted in a boundary. His lame half-assed dive was not one that would have resulted in a "dislocated" shoulder. Yes that's what he said at the post match presentation.

But Ajmal walking of the field holding his arm was the best act put on by a Pakistani fielder ever.

His substitute was Yasir Arafat, who misfielded of the very next delivery in the same position as Ajmal, which resulted in another boundary.

However, after that Yasir Arafat turned into a Super Sub! He ran out Matthew Wade with a direct throw from the boundary, he timed his run and judged the ball coming off George Bailey's blade to perfection giving Pakistan a much needed wicket off the first ball of the final over, and he ran like a hare during that last over keeping the Aussies down to a single at least twice.

Thank you Saeed Ajmal!

8. Discussion of the Night - Part II
We had all expected that Umar Gul will bowl the final over, so when he was handed the ball in the 19th we broke into another discussion.

"Yaar ghalti kardi Hafeez ne. Aakhri over phir spinner"
"Khud nai karega, Shoaib Malik ko dega"
"Ab to khud hi karana hoga. Captain hai, responsibility le"

We all went into shock when Shoaib Malik walked up to the bowling end after a lengthy discussion among 6 of Pakistan's cricketers.

"Nai yaar. Malik! Isse hero banna hai kya Sania ke saamne"
"Bh#$%&d Marwayega"

And suddenly Hafeez changes his mind and calls up Razzaq.

"Naheeeeeeennn.. Razzaq ne last kab bowling ki this International cricket me?"
"Ghalti hai yaar. Rookie mistake, Hafeez should have used a 6th bowler earlier"
"Warr gaye Bh#$%&d"

9. Run of the Night
It wasn't by either of the Akmals, nor by Yasir Arafat, nor by either of the Aussies. The run of the night was shared by 3 spectators who somehow dodged the stadium security and ran on to the pitch during the course of play. Well 2 of them, the third one was hauled down by 5 men!

The first man sprinted across the field with a Pakistani flag, circled a player or two and ran back into the stands before the security could even move from their places.

The second person was a little kid who ran in when Razzaq came in to bat. The umpire stood in his way, the kid dodged him, shook Razzaq's hand and ran back into the stands.

By now the security at the boundary lines had doubled.

But it didn't stop yet another spectator to run on to the pitch. This time the security was ready though. Took 5 men to corner and haul down this one.


10. Mass Hysteria
The first delivery of Razzaq's over took forever to reach George Bailey. It was that slow. But it was a rank long hop and we all felt that it was going over the ropes. But Yasir Arafat sprinted around and held on to a wonderful catch. The entire stadium, 20,000 people, erupted in the loudest cheer of the night.


11. Stunned Silence
The 5th delivery of Razzaq's over was sent sailing over mid wicket for a six by Pat Cummins. It tied the game. The crowd went quiet.

Game over we all felt.

Hafeez hustled the troops. Men were called in to the inner circle.

We all stood there, hands on our heads. For some on their hips. A few started to leave. It was over for the crowd. Cummins had sealed the deal for Australia.

12. Mass Hysteria Encore
It was really quiet as Razzaq ran in for the final delivery, but once again the entire crowd broke into an even louder cheer than before as soon as Cummins hit the ball in the air and Pakistani fielders got under it.

"Dont drop it please!" someone shouted, and the cheer reached its peak as Imran Nazir held on to it safely.

Razzaq, who had almost given the match away, saved it at the end.

The big screen said "Super Over" and we all waited in anticipation.

As I said at the start, no words can really capture the emotions that the crowd went through during the Super Over. It was out of this world, and something that I had never witnessed before.

I have seen a large number of cricket matches all around the world at various different grounds. But the intensity and excitement that I was a part of on Friday has never been matched before.

It was truly unbelievable.




Cheering, high fiving, hugging started inside the stadium and continued on to the roads outside the Dubai Cricket Stadium as fans danced to the beats of a dhol and celebrated a magnificent victory.

The heat, the traffic jams, the sweat - all was forgotten once Pakistan won the game in a nail biting finish.

It was the best T20 international I have ever seen, and by far the best international cricket match I have seen at a cricket ground.