THE ZIMBABWE LESSON

For those who watch cricket – for a neutral cricket fan yesterday was a historic occasion- A rare Zimbabwe win. Considering the fact that it’s last test win was against Bangladesh the win yesterday was all the more special.

I don’t know why but there’s always a feel good factor in seeing the minnows win. Maybe it’s human nature to applaud when someone fights against the odds and emerges a winner. My mind travels back in time. Gone are the days when the FLOWER brothers used to give the opposition a fight. HEATH STREAK would often be the lone warrior with the ball.

For a long while the trio ensured that Zimbabwe always put up a fight and there would be occasional surprise wins. But all that was part of a glorious past. The present looks bleak. The whole country is in turmoil. The economy is just gloomy. Coaching staffs had to be laid off. Pay dispute between the players and the board before the series started threatened every game. It all looked ugly until yesterday.

Before the game started Chatara was just a rookie. But the way he bamboozled Pakistan into submission shows that he has spirit for the big stage. For Pakistan it was a typical unpredictable performance. We have now seen so much of this that we are not sure which PAKISTAN would turn up on a particular day. The mediocre one or the flamboyant one.

The victory celebrations after the win told the whole story. For one fleeting moment nothing else mattered except the fact that ZIMBABWE had beaten a top test team.

Is it a lone bright spot or is it a sign of things to come. I am not sure. But for now let’s celebrate the victory of the underdog