Tales of the Gabba: What Pakistan cricket can learn from India’s historic win
By: Hamza Tariq
It was a little over four years ago. Pakistan were at the Gabba, chasing down a target of 490 in the fourth innings — after rolling over for 142 runs in the first. An Australian victory was imminent. After all, the highest successful chase in all of Test cricket was of 418. The highest successful chase at the Gabba was of 236—more than 55 years ago. The Australians had not lost a Test match at the Gabba in 28 years. And Pakistan had not won a Test match against Australia, in Australia, for over 21 years. Talk about stacked odds.
But the world turned upside down on the fifth day. Pakistan, somehow, were at 449/8 — only 41 runs away from their most famous Test victory ever. On one end, they had Asad Shafiq leading the charge, batting on 137 — his highest Test score. On the other end, they had Yasir Shah holding on audaciously with 33 runs off 66 balls. A win that would amaze, inspire, and galvanize the next-generation of Pakistani cricketers and fans was almost there.
But then not quite. Australia won by 39 runs and there was no real history to be made. No one quite remembers things that almost happened, and history is only made when things do happen. Four years later, India made history — by chasing down 328, breaking the Australians’ now 32-year monopoly at the Gabba. No one will ever forget this Test match, for several reasons — all of which are being talked about and will be whenever this game will be brought up. But what lesson can one take from a Pakistan loss most will forget, and an Indian win all will remember?
Yes, Chesteshwar Pujara did score his slowest 50 ever — at a nail-grinding strike rate of 26.54. But while he backstopped one end, at the other end, four of India’s top batsmen scored at a strike rate of at least 60 — showing positive intent and often taking the attack to the Australians. In the 2016 Test, only one of the top six Pakistani batsmen had a strike rate of over 45. That was Asad Shafiq and he almost won them the game. While Azhar Ali and Younis Khan both made important contributions, having almost all the batsmen play with the same defensive strategy was just timid. Yes, Pakistan were chasing a much bigger target — a whacking 162 more runs — but realistically, there was very little chance that a Pakistani batting line-up was going to hold out for over two days to force a draw, against the Australians at their ultimate Test fortress. That seemed, at the time, and in retrospect the least viable result. In the end, Pakistan went down fighting, but did they actually start fighting too late?
India, too, were given little chance of chasing down 328 against a roaring Australian bowling attack. The best, people thought they might do is force a draw. The worst, the Australians thought they might do is force a draw. No one really imagined a breach of the Gabba. But things happen, and history gets made when people decide to go for things even if the odds seem improbable.
Yes, there is a sizable difference in the quality of Test players available to India and Pakistan at this time. But despite being all out for their lowest Test total in the first match, despite playing without their best batsman and captain, despite being without five of its frontline bowlers, despite fielding a team without seven of their regular players — despite all the bruising — both mental and physical — this Indian team still believed. They had confidence and the self-belief that they could win.
So when people talk about the difference in quality between the current Indian and Pakistani Test squads, that gulf was at a minimum between the Indian side at the Gabba and the best Test team Pakistan can field at the moment. They might even be at par. But both teams couldn’t be further apart in self-confidence and ultimately, results.
The lesson: Misbah-ul-Haq’s leadership lacks the ability to inspire self-belief when the odds are tough. There are times when Pakistan comes close, and a brave effort from one or two players brings them close to making history. But they almost never really get there. Cricket is a team sport, and it takes eleven with the confidence and belief in their ability to win for a real change in fortunes. This Pakistan team appears uninspired, overawed, and meek against better oppositions. Yes, they put up a fight every now and then, but that has not been the norm.
The team needs inspiration. Misbah, for all his qualities and contributions to Pakistan cricket is just not the man who is doing so at the moment. Pakistan cricket needed Misbah’s unwaveringly stable temperament in the last decade. But what it needs now is the exuberance, the flare, the buoyancy of spirit of Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, and Shahid Afridi. After all, would you rather be consistent in losing predictably or winning unpredictably? The simple yet elusive lesson here is: if Pakistan go fighting, play positively, and with confidence in every match, against every opposition, and in all conditions — they’ll give themselves many more chances of making history. And some of those times, they’ll go from being almost there — to actually making history.
