SALUTING THE VANQUISHED

Initial exhilaration about an Indian victory is now tempered with the sheer pleasure of having witnessed a heart-stopping match, where the momentum swung from one side to the other with dizzying regularity.

Pakistan ultimately came second best because the middle and lower middle-order this time round could not cover up fully for the inadequacies of the top order. But then they went all the way in the first place because of the unexpected brilliance of the middle-order. Along with their bowling - Mohammad Asif's swing, Shahid Afridi's accuracy. surprise new seam sensation Sohail Tanvir's sheer unpredictability and the joker in the pack, Umar Gul, coming in effectively as fifth bowler for the first time.

Here's a team even more humiliated than India in the ODI World Cup in the West Indies. A shock defeat to unknown Ireland (far more unknown and inexperienced than Bangladesh, whom India lost to) and a first-round exit. Worse still, the mysterious death of coach Bob Woolmer and zillions of conspiracy theories and suspicion surrounding it.

Soon came a major churn in the squad, with Inzamam-ul-Haq shown the door and the man who thought he was heir apparent, Mohammad Yousuf, left high and dry, with a younger Shoaib Malik handed over the reins. To add insult to injury, Yousuf does not make it to the Twenty20 squad. And immediately decides to pitch in his lot (along with Abdul Razzaq and Imran Farhat) with Zee's ICL.

Who got the nod for Twenty20 ahead of a giant like Yousuf? A Misbah-ul-Haq, somebody on the wrong side of 33, with only five disastrous tests and 12 ODIs to show for six scrappy years of international cricket. Yousuf on the other hand was somebody with a humungous appetite for runs - the record for most test centuries a year and most runs a year in 2006 being the crowning glory.

But it was this unknown batsman who made the middle-order stand up to be counted, match after match. The first India-Pakistan match at the group stage, 42 runs to win for Pakistan with three overs to go. The last big name Afridi is gone. India seemed to have wrapped it up for all practical purposes, only to get an almighty scare from Misbah's 35-ball 53. Misbah had to setttle for a tie here but for Australia, there were no comebacks.

Coming in at a precarious 46 for 4, what does he do? Whack an unbeaten 66 off just 42 balls before the world champions knew what hit them.

At the biggest stage, the final, Misbah believed when the rest of the team fell at regular intervals. And having got within touching distance, he tried to shake off the overwhelming burden with a cheeky shot. Sadly for him, he may have been better off whacking the ball straight, instead of being too clever-by-half with a scoop.

Along came a hero from obscurity at a ripe old age, that's the tale of this Twenty20 hero. This may be a faint flicker before a return to anonymity like David Steele in the 1970s, or a harbinger of great things to come. Let's hope it's the latter. Pakistan cricket needs a few lasting heroes and not blow hot, blow cold prima donnas like Shoaib Akhtar.