Date with destiny

Just two days left now, 48 hours and then it will begin, the mother of all matches the India vs Pakistan encounter in the semi finals of the world cup.  Mohali, India is the venue and the match has been awaited with bated breath on both sides of the border, ticket prices are quadrupled by demand…

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A Letter to Lala

At this precise moment in the world cup no one is doubting the fact that the dark horse of the tournament team Pakistan has more than demonstrated their ability and prowess to win in their match against Srilanka. They have beaten one of the hosts of this world cup in front of a packed crowd…

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Rise & Reclaim

I am not a cricket analyst and will never claim to be one but what I am, is a fan of the game itself. As a fan of the Pakistan team I have had the pleasure of witnessing our victories in some unusual circumstances. For instance the match against India in Sharjah where Javed Miandad hit…

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Desperate times

Everyone knows the story by now, how could they not? Its been blasted to us from every corner of our input receivers on all forms of media and has spiraled into something resembling a circus pretty quick. A well spoken man receives a large sum of money in a hotel room in England, allegedly to spot fix…

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Drowning in shame

If you are a Pakistani there can be only two reactions you can have to the above video, the first would be the sinking feeling we all get when things surface then are swept under the carpet and then surface again. In between all this we usually tend to come up with a cockamamie conspiracy…

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That’s just not cricket

ALSO PUBLISHED ON THE DAWN BLOG Sub-continental cricket is of a different form than the game played internationally. The rules are the same, yes, but only in this part of the world is cricket treated as a way of life, rather than as a sport. Only here is a cricketer deemed so infallible that fans…

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Ashes, 4 days many expectations

The ashes series between England and Australia perhaps represents the oldest rivalry in the game, not the fiercest though as that would be Pakistan and India but then we seldom believe in playing the puritanical version of cricket any longer. Test cricket is off course the authentic and most original form of this game and…

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Cricketwords

Weft, warp, weave. Fact or fiction? Making a fiction of the facts, or crafting a life to fit the story?   The fielders are in their brilliant white against the damp tanginess of the green. Wicketkeeper. Four slips. Gully. A buzz as we wait for the bowler to come in. Ball defended. Job done. Again,…

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He came he saw he captained?

One would think Kevin Pietersons lot in life is stuff that fairy tales are woven out off. First he gave up on his career in South Africa where he was born due to the quota system there and moved with his bags to Nottinghampshire where he began his trek into The English National side. Then…

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An English cricketing experience

We arrive early and make our way through the bag searches and scanners that are now part of every international cricket match. We have no contraband, and anyway, my press pass might just get us out of trouble if we did. But I’m not working today – I’m here simply to enjoy the game. First…

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