Crucket

Wednesday’s heavy loss to Pakistan maintains our exemplary record of zero wins against Pakistan in the Emirates. We had 10 failed efforts to record a win against Pakistan in Sharjah, and now we have added 1 at Abu Dhabi. (Thanks to Leg Break for bringing this to my attention.)

That really is some record. 0-11 over 23 years. There would be few, if any perhaps, comparable records of team match-ups in one country. You would almost want tonight’s game to go the same way, just to maintain that record.

The Cricinfo preview to this series tried to make the case that this series was “simply a compelling series between two eminently watchable sides”, as if there was no other context to it, dismissing the battle for 4th spot on the ICC ODI ranking table and any talk of Pakistan wanting revenge for their defeat to New Zealand in the recent Champions Trophy semi-final.

Well actually it is not merely a compelling series. It is about rankings and revenge for the Champions Trophy. But it is also about that record I mentioned above and whether New Zealand can crack it. And if they can, can they maybe get some payback for some of the previous results in the Emirates, such as the 10 wicket loss in ’86 or the final in ’96 where we failed to chase 160 and now the ’09 138-run drubbing.

However, more important than all the other factors that might go into a series or a match against Pakistan, every single game that we play against Pakistan, of any format anywhere in the world, until memory fades, is about revenge for the semi-final of the ’92 World Cup. One day Pakistan will pay for the heartbreak they caused in knocking us out of that tournament!