Despite odds, Pakistan a champion side: Rameez Raja

Lahore, Oct 18 (UNI) The 'remarkable display of character' by Pakistan in the face of adversity as they won their Champions Trophy opener against Sri Lanka has proved that Younis Khan's men are a champion side, which has what it takes to win the ICC event without their two strike bowlers, says former captain Rameez Raja.

Writing in his column for 'The Nation', Rameez said the way Pakistan regrouped after being hit by the doping scandal, which led to the ouster of pace spearheads Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif from the Champions Trophy, clearly established that the team had its priorities right.

''The moment Pakistan team walked out on the field for their first encounter, it seemed they had left the trauma of the spate of painful controversies well behind them. They appeared to be wanting to concentrate on cricket, and were desperate to perform to silence the wagging tongues, of which there were many in the Indian media,'' Rameez wrote.

''And in what surely was a most remarkable display of character and skill, not to mention the never-say-die spirit that separates champion outfits from the ordinary, Pakistan walked away with a victory,'' he added as he showered praise on the side for fighting the odds to clinch their tournament opener.

Rameez said Younis Khan and co compensated for the loss of Shoaib and Asif by infusing passion into their game and proved once again that, despite the odds, they would be a tough nut to crack for the other competing teams in the event.

''Without their two frontline bowlers, depleted the Pakistanis definitely were, but they replaced the lack of critical resource with unbending passion and spirit that would have settled for nothing else but a win,'' he said.

''Sri Lanka is one of the better sides in this Champions Trophy, and a favourite to walk away with the crown. In a jiffy, the Lankans were running away with the game. But to Pakistan's credit, even during his assault, the shoulders never dropped. And once Rao Iftikhar avenged himself by pegging back his leg stump, the scenario changed for the better for Pakistan,'' he pointed out.

Rameez said Pakistan did exceptionally well with the ball by restricting Sri Lanka to 253 considering the doping scandal had taken away their top bowlers from them.

''The Pakistani spinners bowled intelligently and Abdul Razzaq got four wickets by sticking to the basics, keeping his wits about him and bowling stump to stump to get four of the more ambitious batsmen for 50 runs.'' ''Without their two best bowlers, this was an achievement that the Pakistan should be proud of,'' he said.

The former cricketer-turned commentator felt the only strategic mistake committed by Younis was sending Shahid Afridi up the order.

''Shahid Afridi was a tad surprisingly pushed up the order and turned out to be the only real mistake committed by the skipper and team management. Pakistan was bogged down in the middle overs, and lost a couple of wickets too many, but it had a few aces up its sleeves in Shoaib Malik and (Abdul) Razzaq,'' he said.

Rameez singled out Malik and Razzaq for praise and said their performance would help instill confidence in the team after a tough phase, which has seen the side battle one controversy after another.

''The former (Malik) stayed as cool as a cucumber, and with the ball getting wet and doing nothing much by way of assistance to the bowlers, Razzaq unleashed his big hitting to good effect, finishing the game with a spectacular six.'' ''This win should go a long way in instilling self-belief in a squad that has been much harried in the recent times. Pakistan may practically be down to its last eleven, but from the evidence of this first encounter, it is still good enough to upset the best laid plans of many,'' he signed off.

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