RAWALPINDI: In a year in which over 1.7 million people died world over due to the coronavirus, sports competitions offered Pakistanis some relief, as well as grief, in this difficult time. Below are some of the most memorable sporting moments of 2020:
Fawad Alam’s long-awaited century:
In the final day of this week’s test series between Pakistan and New Zealand, middle batsman Fawad Alam made his place in cricket history with 102 runs, his first in a test series since his debut on the team in 2009. Though Pakistan ultimately lost the test, Alam was showered in praise for his impressive stand on the field, batting for 6 hours and 36 minutes or 396 minutes, the longest ever by a Pakistani batsman in the 4th innings of a test match outside of Asia.
Sports journalist Faizan Lakhani summed by the emotions of millions of Pakistanis thus:
Whatever the result of this match is going to be. The resilience by Fawad Alam and another superb batting by Rizwan is paisaa-wasool
— Faizan Lakhani (@faizanlakhani) December 30, 2020
Former New Zealand cricketer Grant Elliot tweeted in praise for Alam:
YES HE WILL!! Well batted Fawad Alam! @TheRealPCB #NZvPAK pic.twitter.com/u3I667rh4Z
— Grant Elliott (@grantelliottnz) December 30, 2020
Even the International Cricket Council congratulated Alam, posting photos from the athlete’s two-century test performances and saying: “Never give up.”
Fawad Alam:
1st Test hundred 13 July, 2009
2nd Test hundred 30 December, 2020Never give up pic.twitter.com/3Iu9pvDQ2I
— ICC (@ICC) December 30, 2020
Shoaib Akthar vs the ICC:
Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar came down hard on the International Cricket Council (ICC) this month after the world body named Teams of the Decade without any Pakistani player on the list.
“I think ICC has forgotten that Pakistan is also ICC’s member and plays cricket internationally. They missed out on an ace Pakistani batsman like Babar Azam who is already the top T20 batsman. They did not even include a single Pakistani player,” the speedster said on his Youtube channel.
“They didn’t select a single player from Pakistan, and thanks a lot for that, we don’t need you,” he added.
Comedian and cricket commentator Aatif Nawaz expressed his frustration, citing a number of Pakistani wins over the decade and saying the exclusion was “pretty lame.”
In the past decade Pakistan beat:
-ENG in UAE 2011
-IND in IND 2012
-SA in SA 2013
-ENG in ENG 2016.
-Won Champions Trophy 2017
-Oh And were ranked No. 1 in Tests and T20s.Sorry @ICC. The fact that you put 5 teams together without a single Pakistani player is pretty lame.
— Aatif Nawaz (@AatifNawaz) December 27, 2020
Funny cricket Twitter:
Being a Pakistani cricket fan is a high-risk gamble, but the upside is how often devotees take to Twitter to express their feelings, often with satire.
Just this week, as Pakistan lost its battle against New Zealand, sports writer and culture critic Ahmer Naqvi described the anguish of an extinguished love and compared it to Pakistani cricket fans.
— Ahmer Naqvi (@karachikhatmal) December 30, 2020
Twitter user Arhum Latif @Arhuml92 lamented the heartbreaking choice to back Pakistan on the field: “Fool me 9863528 times, that’s just the life of a Pakistan cricket fan.”
Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. Fool me 9863528 times, that’s just the life of a Pakistan cricket fan.
— Arhum (@arhuml92) August 13, 2020
Pakistan Super League’s postponed finals:
The coronavirus pandemic led to the suspension of Pakistan’s ultra-popular Pakistan Super League series, with the cricket board postponing the event in March after an overseas player showed symptoms.
The postponement was a huge disappointment for fans, announced hours before the semifinal matches were due to start in Lahore.
The Pakistan Super League Final was finally held on November 17, 2020 at the National Stadium in Karachi, with the Karachi Kings team defeating Lahore Qalandars by five wickets to win their maiden PSL title.
The return of women’s football:
Six years after being dormant, in October of this year, the Pakistan Football Federation said it was reviving the Pakistan women’s football team and invited 30 players from the national team for a camp.
Captain Hajra Khan tweeted out her excitement for the revival:
IT WAS ALL WORTH IT!
Fought for the past 6 years because quitting is easy & I don't do easy!
Didn't give up on what I believed in & that's what we hold on to as a team!
It's for the young ones, for the future of women's football, for those we lost, it's for Pakistan! pic.twitter.com/FOdFtPkHUd— Hajra Khan (@hajrakn) November 3, 2020
Pakistan wins Kabbadi World Cup 2020:
Though most sports events were hit by the pandemic, one got to have its day in the sun before everything shut down. In February this year, Pakistan won the seventh edition of the Kabbadi World Cup right here on home ground, with India coming in second and Iran third. It was the first time Pakistan had won the tournament.
