Mindset vs skill set

Published March 27, 2016

Psychology is a massive factor in any life domain, and sports, cricket included, is no exception though its significance is often overlooked by even the pundits in certain situations. There are often more demons in the mind that need to be sorted out than, say, the turf one is playing on. Talent and skill mean only so much without temperament. Of course we are talking about Pakistan’s continuing run of defeats against India in international tournaments.

The one at Kolkata last week was 11th in as many encounters, if anyone needs a reminder. This cent per cent failure for sure has to have something more to do with mindset than the skill set. The pitch was almost a droll in nature as even the pace men had to focus on bowling cutters rather than rippers. For the spinners, it was turning square and then some more. A little more space than the designated 22 yards and some of the balls would have turned 360 degrees and boomeranged on the bowlers themselves!

Even if you take the exaggeration out, the pitch was bad for the game and much worse than some of the blind turners we had seen at the Pakistan Super League in Dubai. And while we are still on the playing surface, India is only the hosting country, but the pitches and all other arrangements are directly under the supervision of the International Cricket Council (ICC). This, in effect, means India, at least on paper, does not have the right to hide behind what generally gets passed as home advantage. But it did play its first two games on pitches that were more similar than the most identical of all identical twins.


Like the 10-year grip on India that Pakistan enjoyed in the wake of that famous last-ball Sharjah sixer, the former seems to have a hold on the latter when it comes to international tournaments


Regardless of what happened on the day, defeats against India have come on all sorts of surfaces and there is no point blaming the pitch. So, then, what is it, one may well ask. A professional psychologist would be much better off exploring the exact emotional scar hidden in layers of soul and spirit of Pakistan cricket that makes them struggle against India. But we can give it a try.

For starters, it is not just a lack of capacity to handle pressure. After all, Pakistan teams over the years have done some wonderful things against various sides under extreme pressure of this sort or that. Even against India, they have not done too bad overall. It is the nomenclature of ‘World Cup’ that apparently seems to trigger a meltdown.

To build up an argument, let’s go back to April 18, 1986, when Javed Miandad hit Chetan Sharma for a last-ball sixer to register that famous victory at Sharjah which dampened the spirit just enough to force the Indians to stop believing in themselves. Over the next 10 years, the two teams played 24 One Day Internationals (ODIs), and Pakistan won 19 of them. In Sharjah, they won 11 of the 12. Such was the psychological hold that the Pakistan team enjoyed for a decade.

The tide turned, arguably, on March 9, 1996, in Bangalore; the day of the quarter-final of the sixth World Cup. Just as the Indians had that feeling of utter hopelessness every time they appeared in Sharjah, Pakistanis have it when it comes to World Cups.

Though the first time the two teams met in a World Cup was in 1992 where Pakistan lost almost without a fight, it did not cause the psychological trauma because Pakistan was losing its matches left, right and centre in that tournament before the legendary turnaround in fortunes saw Pakistan having the last laugh.

Though the margin of victory was 43 runs, it was not as significant as the 39 runs that separated the two teams in Bangalore. For one thing, the World Cup was being played in the subcontinent, which meant temperatures and emotions ran high. Besides, unlike the loss in Australia, this was in the knockout stage. And then it was that infamous match where captain Wasim Akram just declared himself unfit moments before the toss and set quite a few tongues and fingers wagging for this thing or that.

Ajay Jadeja’s 25-ball 45 and Anil Kumble’s six-ball 10 in the dying moments of the Indian innings sucked up energy better than the most technically sound vacuum-cleaner, and all that was left in the field were drooping Pakistani shoulders.

When the chase started, there was great promise about it as Saeed Anwar and Amir Sohail scored 84 runs for the opening partnership in time and at a rate that were much faster than what was required, and sensible cricket would have seen the team through. Hopes were high. India was on the defensive. Instead, the heat of the moment got the better of Sohail and the rest is history.

Pakistan lost, but the 39-run margin doesn’t stand testimony to the intensity of the fight. There was a touch of what might have been about the whole thing.

This set a precedent that continued for a while till the World T20 came around in 2007. It was time to break the ‘World Cup’ jinx and it was the closest fight Pakistan has ever put up against India in such a setting. Played in Durban, South Africa, the match was in the bag as it entered the last over. Pakistan needed one run off two balls and on strike was Misbahul Haq who had scored 53 off 33 balls by then. Shanthakumaran Sreesanth bowled a dot ball followed by a short one that was butted to silly mid-off, and Misbah was run out by some distance. So low in spirit was Pakistan that it lost the subsequent bowl-out.

The two teams met again in the final 10 days later. Chasing 158 to win, Pakistan needed 13 off the last over. Misbah was on strike. After a great deal of thought, Mahendra Singh Dhoni gambled on the inexperienced Joginder Sharma who started off with a wide and conceded six off the next. Six runs were then needed off four balls when Misbah went for the scoop down to fine leg that fell in Sreesanth’s lap.

To Misbah’s credit, it must be said that with nine wickets down and Mohammad Asif, who was anyone’s bunny, at the other end, his hand was rather forced. And it was Misbah alone who had brought Pakistan so close to victory in both the matches. But as a team Pakistan just could not believe in itself anymore.

In the 20 years since that 1996 quarter-final, Pakistan has never been able to overcome the emotional trauma that hit it off the pitch just before the toss. Such elements can’t be explained in statistical terms, but they do have an impact. But, for sure, one victory would give the team back its self-belief. Till then, it’s time to fight off the psychological demons.

humair.ishtiaq@gmail.com

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, March 27th, 2016

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