Blog: "Put up 50 runs before 10 overs or leave!!"

It is usually a sight in street cricket in the sub-continent, when a player goes into hibernation, if he fails to score certain amount of runs on certain number of deliveries OR is unable to dismiss a particular batsman through his bowling. It is an incentive and a threat at the same time.

When ODI cricket was turning 13, Pakistan Cricket team was on a tour to Australia. Imran Khan, struggling with a shin injury, was part of the squad as a captain-cum-batsman. Javed Miandad was the backbone of the team’s batting, while Mohsin Hasan Khan was the regular opener of the team who had established himself as a reliable partner of the other opener, Mudassar Nazar.

The Pakistan’s tour of Australia began with 5 tests and Mohsin Khan scored hundreds in two them. A classy 149 in the third Test at Adelaide and 153 in the next at Melbourne. His form deteriorated in the fifth test and his average, on that tour, was a steady 43.33. His ‘batting-form’ went from worse to worst in limited overs’ matches as he managed to score only 130 runs in just 9 innings at an average of less than 15 runs per innings. For a batsman amassing two near-to 150 scores in whites, to a complete flop, Mohsin was a shadow of himself in coloured clothing. Mansoor Akhtar, the regular one-down batsman, had to open the innings once in an ODI, when Mohsin was dropped due to ill-form.

It happened on 30th January 1984 in the 13th match (surely and purely an unlucky number) of the World Series Cricket tournament. Pakistan was playing against Australia, in Adelaide, when stand-in captain Javed Miandad, after losing the toss, came up with the ‘morale-crashing’ idea! Old timers recall that Javed Miandad teased the openers, as they could not put up even 50 runs at the scoreboard by 10 overs. Mohsin Khan, a future filmstar in India and Pakistan movies, took it to his heart. A wretched form followed by an insult was too much for the actor-in-making. It has been heard that Mohsin asked Miandad if he could get the desired 50 runs, Mohsin would retire, but if the ‘stand-in captain’ fails… Javed would ‘stand down’!

Never new to controversies and challenges, Javed Miandad, the original street fighter, accepted the challenge.

Australia, batting first, scored 210 runs in the allotted 50 overs. Opener Kepler Wessels scored 61 runs while the debutant Dean Jones chipped in with a 33-ball 40. Both of them had 4 boundaries in their innings. In chase of 211, Men-in-Green had relatively new pair of openers. Javed Miandad and Mansoor Akhtar, both from Karachi, batted ahead of regular openers and tormented the opposition.

Javed was influential in putting 50 runs on the scoreboard in no time. Mansoor Akhtar, whose highest ODI score is 47, scored a 24-ball 22 with 3 fours in this match at Adelaide, while Javed Miandad managed a 29-ball 34 with 7 fours. His shots were scattered all around the park and that was the only moment in Pakistan’s batting that the Aussies felt threatened. Mansoor was bowled by Rodney Hogg while Javed Miandad was dismissed by Carl Rackemann in the next. In pursuit, Pakistan were well placed at 56 for 2 and the 9th over was yet to be bowled.

Rest of the players could only gather 84 runs and Pakistan were all out for 140 in the 46th over. Rackemann took 4 more wickets in the innings, finishing with 5 wickets for 16 runs. The only other boundary of the innings (a four, no six was hit in the entire match), other than Mansoor and Javed was struck by the dashing Wasim Raja who batted before Mohsin and Mudassar. Mohsin, batting at No.6, was the third highest scorer of the match with 19 runs. Raja and Mohsin were dismissed by the eventual Man of the match, a part time bowler Kepler Wessels.

Mohsin Khan called a press conference after the match and announced his decision to retire, as per agreement with Javed Miandad. He cited Personal reasons for the decision. The regular captain, Imran Khan, requested media not to take the retirement seriously and asked them to ignore the incident.

1st February, two days after the retirement, Mohsin reconsidered his decision and said he would play on. Javed and Mohsin Khan used to play for the same domestic team and took the jhagra to a new level.

Year 2015, fast forward to Adelaide again … The recent defeat at the hands of India in Adelaide was quite similar to the defeat against Australia 31 years, 2 weeks and 1 day earlier… It was Pakistan’s opening match of the World Cup. With 28 Test hundreds to his name, Younis Khan, ironically from the same domestic team Miandad and Mohsin used to play for, is very close to combined centuries of Mohsin Khan (7 hundreds) and Javed Miandad (23 hundreds). But in ODI, his 7 hundreds in 262 matches are of no match to Javed Miandad. They lack quality and three failed World Cups. Javed has won dozens of limited overs matches for his country. As for Younis, I can’t recall any ODI victories?

The only thing I find common in Younis Khan and Javed Miandad besides a century on Test Debut, is the ‘threaten and be selected’ attitude for a later, disastrous World Cup. Cricket followers still remember the day in 1995, when Javed Miandad was seen weeping at the Karachi Press Club, as he thought he was being kept away from national duty. He was selected, after the then Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto intervened, but the eventual result was 5 matches, 3 innings and 54 runs.

Before leaving for the World Cup 2015, Younis Khan was telling the media that he would play the role what Javed Miandad played in the 1992 World Cup. Pakistan players have already won the Cup in their minds, sadly they haven’t been able to produce anything on the field yet.

Just like Miandad of 1984, Younis Khan also opened the innings at Adelaide. Before the match, he was telling the media that he would score a hundred against India and is NOT AFRAID of a short pitch ball. The man who had eyes for a hundred could not even reach double figures and was dismissed on a bad ball.

It was Virat Kohli’s innings from the same match which reflected Miandad style of ODI cricket. The match winning innings had 56 singles, 8 fours and no sixes as the Indian battings’ backbone kept the strike rotating through-out the innings.

Younis dismal form continued in the second match too where he was out for the first ball duck. The dismissal of Younis Khan, in both matches, was amateurish. They exposed his weak reflexes. Younis had the glimpse of Javed Miandad, but Javed from the 1996 World Cup. The legendary batsman and mainstay of 1992 World Cup winning team was 38 years old and ironically managed to score 38 runs against India, in his final match.

Statistically speaking, the near-to-38 years Younis Khan has a pathetic average in Australia. In the last 13 years, he has managed to score runs at an average of 18 with only one fifty. In 2002, Younis Khan was young and fresh and had a hunger for runs. He was a brilliant fielder too as he had something to prove to the World. Currently, he is one of the best Test batsmen, but in ODI you can’t have players just because they have a big name.

Younis’ threatening comeback to ODI side may cost Pakistan the World Cup as it seems he may not even manage 54 runs (Miandad’s farewell ODI series score) in the entire tournament. Wish there had been a street fighter like Miandad this time in Adelaide who could have challenged him to score 50 runs as opener before 10th over or retire!!