Pakistan Vs Australia 2019 | 5th ODI | Highlights | PCB

Pakistan - The Champions of the ICC World Cup 2019?

It is not an easy thing being a Pakistani cricket fan. The team makes us laugh, cry, feel immense pride or shock us with their abysmal performance. From the Champions Trophy to Asia Cup, we have seen both the extreme sides of the Pakistani cricket team. But the fact of the matter is that the opposition is always wary of Pakistan. While playing against such an unpredictable side, who wouldn't be wary? The opposition always gets confused as to what sort of game plan should be formulated against such a maverick team. The 2019 Cricket World Cup is a big opportunity for Pakistan to show their worth and showcase their talent to the world.

Let's analyze Pakistan's strength first which is their fast bowling attack. Pakistan has the likes of Hassan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Junaid Khan at their disposal. Hassan Ali, who electrified the crowd with his spectacular spell with the bowl knows his way around a new ball and when the team is in need for a wicket in the middle of the innings, he is the man to go to. The young 18 old bowler Muhammad Hasnain has the pace. Junaid Khan has the range and variety up his sleeves. The second strength is Pakistan's overall performance over the pitches of England. From reaching the finals of 1999 World Cup to winning the 2009 T20 World Cup. Apart from that Pakistan won test matches in Lords in 2016 and 2018. Pakistan also won the Champions Trophy in 2017 in England. Another positive aspect is that due to the series against England, Pakistan would be able to warm up and familiarize themselves to the conditions of England for the World Cup.
Now, when we talk about Pakistan's weaknesses, the most worrisome thing is the lack of power hitters in the batting line up. Batting has never really been the forte of Pakistan. Muhammad Hafeez is injured, it is unclear at what position Sarfaraz Ahmed and Shoaib Malik will be and how well Fakhar Zaman will perform. These are all questions are on the minds of everyone.
 When we look at the stats against the current top 5 teams, the data shows a sad story. Since the Champions Trophy, Pakistan has played 20 times against the top 5 teams in the world and won only 3 times.
But at the end of the end, fans and well wishers of Pakistan's cricket team should remain optimistic as there's no team more full of surprises than Pakistan.

How Will the England Side Fare Against the Wrath of Pakistan's Bowling Attack?

For the upcoming series, what should Pakistan's bowling attack against England be like? Both teams are scheduled to play 5 ODIs and one T20 against each other. Let's push aside the T20 match and focus only on the one-day matches. Which bowlers can win the match for Pakistan? Pakistan faces a myriad of challenges in the spin department. That is because Shahdab is not available for the series. Unfortunately, he won't be able to play because of injuries. Shahdab's replacement is Yasir Shah for the England series. Although Yasir Shah is a formidable spinner but he hasn't performed very well in ODI matches. His forte is the test matches. He is not the same superstar in one day matches as he is in test cricket. There are a couple of reasons for that. In batting pitches, you got to have a long leg spin or a voracious googly or hit a hard length like Imran Tahir. When Imran Tahir gets attacked by the batsman he goes for the hard length or goes flat. This makes it difficult for the batsman to take a pull shot or even shot straight to the drive. Yasir Shah does not possess such a hard length or a long spin that can make the batsman worry and confused. Thus there are a lot of problems with the style of Yasir Shah and he would really have to work to become a quality one day bowler.

So then the question remains: who should bowl the new ball? Well, we do have the services of Imad Wasim. He bowls well with the new ball. But when he gets done with the new ball; in the second or third spell, the effect of his bowling gets nullified.  He gets exposed as well because with the new ball he gets a curve in his bowling spells and that curve disappears as soon as the new ball gets old. Imad doesn't have spin which is why a batsman can line up and hit straight quite easily. 

So there are lot of problems there too because if you're opening up with Imad Wasim then what about the pacers. As we're playing in England, so letting the pacers play with the new ball is important as well. 

So, in my humble opinion, it would be best to open up with Muhammad Amir with the support of Shaheen Shah Afridi. Both are quite good fast bowlers. Muhammad Amir is clearly struggling but in the England pitches, he shouldn't be struggling that much because his length is very good. Shaheen Shah Afridi has proved himself to be quite an accomplished one day bowler. The combination of these two bowlers would prove lethal in the matches. Then, later on, we can incorporate Imad Wasim around the 10th over as well in the bowling attack. 

Then we also have the option of Hassan Ali. A very potent option. It was through his bowling that Pakistan was able to win the Champions Trophy. He came in the middle of the innings and through the use of reverse swing created a mess for the opponents. 

One thing that Pakistan needs to keep in mind is that we have to take wickets in order to defeat England. We can't afford to play defensive. We will have to play smart and introduce a change of pace from time to time as England have good batsmen who can smash the ball really well. 

Mike Tyson and the Match that Made him World Champion and Avenge his Hero Muhammad Ali

 “The returning hero, maybe not this time the conquering hero, Muhammad Ali. The man who hasn’t had a good fight for the last five years, not since vanilla. The man who hasn’t even fought since September 15th 1978, he is 38 years of age now and he must undertake the task of reproving himself all over again. The man who has held the title an unprecedented 3 times and seeks to make it a 4th, incredible.”

In the 1980’s the era of Muhammad Ali was completed. The new world champion, his former sparring partner, Larry Holmes, was on his way to the boxing throne. It was Holmes who became the fastest and only boxer who was able to end the fight with Ali before the final bell ever rang and in his own favor.

Three months before this fight; Ali underwent a medical examination at the clinic, the results of which revealed that Muhammad Ali had difficulty in touching the tip of his nose with his own fingers. Could hardly stand on one leg and his speech fairly suffered, as the Parkinson’s progressed. When Ali met Holmes in the ring, he began shouting, “I’M YOUR MASTER AND YOUR TEACHER! EVERYTHING YOU HAVE ACHIEVED, YOU OWE ME!” 

For the next half an hour, Holmes dominated the ring. Holmes hit right hooks, uppercuts, keeping his distance, dancing like Ali taught him. Ali could barely pass a jab and was forced to keep his arms up to protect his face from any right or left hooks. By the 10th round; Ali’s coach decided to throw in the towel. 

Larry Holmes on winning the match, “There is no question about Muhammad Ali anymore, there is no Muhammad Ali, there is only one, Larry Holmes. Muhammad Ali has seen the bright side and now he’s on the dark side…” 

In United States. Albany, a few friends had gathered around the television to watch Ali’s fight. Among them was a 14 year old Mike Tyson. When young Mike was doing time in a penal colony; together with a few other inmates he was brought to an assembly hall where he saw the movie, “The Greatest of All Time”, a documentary on Muhammad Ali’s boxing career. When the movie finished everyone cheered and clapped and Muhammad himself stepped on the stage. He began talking with the boys, who couldn’t believe what they were seeing and it was then that Mike Tyson made up his mind to not only become a boxer but to be the greatest of all time.

The morning after Ali’s fight with Holmes. Tyson’s coach, Cus D'Amato, talked on the phone with Muhammad, “How did you let this amateur beat you? He’s an amateur Muhammad! He’s an awful boxer. And I say that he’s an amateur so why did you let an amateur to BEAT YOU DOWN!” and then he asked Muhammed to talk with a young kid that wanted to be the greatest boxer of all time and tell him to listen to his coach. D’Amato had set two goal for Mike. One, to tear Holmes apart and the second, to take back the championship title. 

By 1986, Holmes had already suffered 2 defeats from Michael Spinks. Both on points, made on unanimous decision by the judges. “Gotta say to the Judges, the referees, the promoters; to kiss where the sun don’t shine. And since were on HBO; that’s my big black behind…” Holmes entered retirement shortly thereafter. Mike on the other hand went to fight Trevor Berbick for the title of the heavyweight championship. Mike won by total Knock out. 

In the years preceding, Holmes openly spoke out on how Mike Tyson was nowhere near the boxer he is or how he would be able to knock Mike out before the first bell would ever ring. In 1988, Holmes came out of a 2 year retirement to fight Mike Tyson and to reclaim the title of Heavyweight Champion.

“ I’m going to go down in history, not Mike Tyson. He’s going down as an SOB and if he does win the first round, down the line; I’m going to destroy him”

The announcer start, “Ladies and gentlemen welcome to heavyweight history here in Hilton Hall, Atlantic City. Now before the official introductions; I would like to acknowledge a man here in the ring who is indeed a man of heavyweight history. In 1960, he was an Olympic gold medal champion. In 1964, he became the heavyweight champion of the world. In 1974, he again won the heavyweight title. In 1978, he became the only man in heavyweight history to win three World Champions. Ladies and gentlemen, the former three-time heavyweight champion of the world, Muhammad Ali.” Muhammad greeted everyone in the ring, went to Mike Tyson’s corner to give him a last piece of advice, “Destroy him Mike”.

Bell rings and the first round begins, Holmes keeps his distance, he knows he cant match Mike in strength but if he can outsmart him, find an opening, he’ll knock him out with a right hook. Mike keeps his head down, avoiding any hits. Holmes sees Mike keeping his face down so throws an uppercut. But Mike is far faster, he sees it coming, slides and jabs Holmes right in the face. Rounds pass by, Holmes keeps on getting more and more frustrated, he’s getting tired, his legs start to feel like jelly. Mike is turning more and more into a beast, his movements are getting faster with each adding another jab or right hook. Bell rings, each go back to their corners, Holmes says, “Just you wait till the next round”. Bell rings, the start of the fourth round, Mike exists his corner, both reach the center of the ring. Holmes raises his left shield, passes right hook. Mike passes left hook, Holmes tries to stop it. Mike throws a right hook as well. Holmes gets knocked down. The match referee started to begin his countdown, ” 1.. 2.. 3.. 4.. 5.. 6.. 7..” Holmes gets back up, nods he’s fine to the referee. Mike attacks Holmes, Holmes tackles Mike, Mike uppercuts, Holmes feels pain and releases Mike from the tackle, Mike hits right hook, Holmes is knocked down but gets right back up. Mike is starting to get tired and can’t keep on aggressively attacking. Holmes is dancing around the ring, avoiding any hit, Mike is being careful, biding his time, only landing a hit where he sees an opening. Holmes hits a right hook, Mike ducks, begins hitting uppercuts. Holmes can’t stand it, tries to tackle Mike. Mike breaks the tackle, hits a right hook. Holmes legs collapse, he falls flat on his back. The ring is flooded with the audience, the announcer reads, “… in the two minutes 55 seconds of the fourth round, the winner and still the undisputed, undefeated heavyweight champion of the world, IRON MIKE TYSON!”

In a 2019 podcast, Mike talked about Muhammad Ali, “ The thing about Ali was that he didn’t care, even when he was fighting Holmes. He knew he wasn’t going to win. The meds he was on were making him lose focus. But he still stood their and took the beating like a man. And that’s something I can’t do. I’ll fight for this but I’m not like Ali. I’m not willing to die for it, like Ali.”

Eden Hazard - The First Piece of the New Real Madrid?

The end of season cannot come sooner for Real Madrid as they has been nothing short of dreadful. After suffering utter embarrassment for the entire first half of 2019, Los Blancos have to take action in either revamping their entire formation strategy or look to the transfer market. The club has chosen the latter, which shall prove to be a significantly expensive decision also requiring swift results i.e. the summer league trophy kind.

For that, they need people who can not only score goals but win games, on that roster Eden Hazard has been fairly preferred by the club, especially by their now manager, Zindane. The news has remained disclosed from the public eye as Real’s president, Florentino Perez, has felt that information relating to the Hazard’s departure from his club mid-season; would insight more rage than enthusiasm. However, Madrid have reportedly met with the player and discussed personal terms on contract agreements and his place in the club’s future.

Hazard has out performed in the Premier League, having recorded more assists than any other player with no one having dribbled past opponents more routinely. Being the top scorers in his club, losing Hazard would servce as a serious setback for Chelsea, because not only would Chelsea be losing its top player but because the club will have to sign up two to three star players to meet the gap, Hazard shall be leaving. 

Hazard will be the first of many players, this summer, that shall spark the Real Madrid team back to life. Adamant by the dip in their quality especially after Cristiano Ronaldo left, leaving a huge vacuum, due to differences in goals and vision. Also stated by Zidane last year that the “club needed to change” as a reason for his departure. Almost as if he knew that the club was going to hit rock bottom and both Julen Lopetegui and Santiago Solari would ultimately be unable to stop the fall.

However with his return to the club this March; Zidane has been desperate to coach the Belgian international. 

However, the question still remains, how much Chelsea will ask for Hazard? One of their best players. As even the slightest tip in price could effect this deal, but considering Real has placed a budget of 460 million pounds for acquiring players: Paul Pogba, Christian Eriksen, Luka Jovic, Tanguy Ndombélé and also Eden Hazard for the summer league, it would be safe to assume that Hazard will be changing his uniform sooner that we would have expected. 

Initially, the club president was unwilling to pay such a huge fee for the above players, with some having very little left on their contracts, but as their season’s track record has progressed even worse, Florentino Perez and co. have accepted that signing Hazard alone, would be enough break their clubs transfer record. 

The Fall of Adriano

Adriano Leite Ribeiro, commonly known as Adriano, is a former professional football player. Due to his playing style, he was called the mix of Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimović. However, a few years into his professional career, he lost his consistency and his fame and success went into serious decline.

To understand the reason behind, an in-depth analysis of his past is required. Adriano was born and raised in the favelas on Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – the area was a poverty-ridden and gang-filled slum where a lot of shady stuff took place. Adriano would play football whenever he got the opportunity. It didn’t matter if it was in alleyways or dirt pitches; he loved the sport so much. His dream was to succeed at the game and make it a profession, to escape the favelas and support his family. The motivation to succeed came from his father, who supported his dream and struggled to make ends meet and never indulged in any of the ill-practices of their society. Adriano’s father saved up to help his son get into a youth football club, and Adriano never let him down – he performed as well as he could and stood out amongst his fellow players in terms of skills and stature.

After impressing a large number of people in and outside of the club, he was invited to play for better teams in bigger youth leagues.  In 1999 at the age of 17, Adriano got the opportunity to sign with Flamengo and his professional career officially began. He began dominating the Brazilian league with his incredible speed, strength and skill. In 2001, he signed with a contract with Inter Milan and finally got the chance to play and learn with the man he had always looked up to – the legendary Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima who became a mentor for Adriano.

In 2002, when Ronaldo moved to Real Madrid, Adriano got the opportunity to take the spotlight. He did not disappoint and became a superstar in Italy. He went on to climb the stairs of success and fame, until one day in 2004, the news of his father passing away reached him at the tender age of 22. This was devastating and changed him forever. He brought a new level of aggressiveness in his playing style and finally after almost a year of the incident, completely lost motivation to play due to struggle with depression and with addiction.

An Open Letter to the Government of Pakistan

After reading and writing different articles regarding sports; I have realized that Pakistan's sports authorities have perfected the act of neglecting talent. Our government is not willing to put any effort into honing the next generation of players. Their standardized response to these accusations is always along the lines of, “We do not have sufficient resources to invest in sports.” It is a true fact that our country is always in a perpetual state of a financial crisis but even still, the funds that the government does get for sports is not invested wisely. Corruption and incompetence do not let the money flow to where it needs to be going. Instead, it remains in the pockets of the executives at the top whose sole purpose is to look after themselves alone and refrain from doing their actual jobs. We all know how much politics prevails in this country and how much biasness takes place here.

Regretfully, I have to say that the Government has almost ruined most of the time saving their funds because this is all they ever see. We have an innumerable amount of talent here. 1992 was the only year when we were able to bring world cup home did we make any nark after that? No. 1994 was the time when Pakistan won the ey world cup. Did we make any mark after that? No. The list goes on and on. Each athlete or team that has been able to shine in these dismal conditions have done through their own sheer will and determination. There is no soft landing for our players because the government does not have their backs. People then and people now are totally different. They don’t support Pakistan like the people in the old times used to. All they care about is to be a successful entrepreneur and make money. The country is suffering from great loss not only regarding inflation but talent as well but to government, funds are just too beloved. Sports like football, volleyball are being played at schools children are not at all well aware of our national game. Government has been very myopic towards the sports of our country. I have written this in many articles and I am tired of reading and writing the same thing again and again. Our talented players have started resigning because they see absolutely no future of Pakistan on fields. Our team of every federation does not only needs the government's support but also need our support as well.

So, on behalf of the people of Pakistan, I implore the government to find the time and funds to invest in sports in Pakistan. This will not only help our country make a mark on the world but also help with the financial crisis. The world of sports involves a lot of money. Billion dollar industries have been created around sports. WWE, NCAA, NBA, IPL are all billion dollar companies. Our own PSL brings a lot of revenue. So the pros clearly outweigh the cons when it comes to investing capital and resources in cricket, football, hockey, squash, etc. So enable our players and talented athletes to awe the world with their talent and skills.