Pakistan's 5 greatest match-winners in ODIs

The term ‘match-winner’ could vary in meaning from individual to individual; for some it may be players ‘tilting’ the match in a winning direction and for some it may be somebody who carries his bat through or picks up wickets and runs through the tail.To be précise, ‘match-winners’ are players who can win you a match on their own and ‘big’ match-winners do it on a consistent basis. Another factor that determines a match-winner is his contribution in a winning cause; Sachin Tendulkar has been critiqued for scoring irrelevant centuries in contrast to Inzamam, who is regarded as a ‘crisis man’, who mostly contributed in winning efforts.Pakistan cricket has been blessed in this regard. They have dished out ‘match winners’ regularly, players who could change the course of the match single-handedly.On the contrary, it has been observed that no international cricket team has had so many ups and downs like Pakistan. They turn up ‘hot’ on days and fall totally ‘cold’ on other days, epitomizing inconsistency. Pakistan has over the years ushered some of the biggest names to have played the game, like Md. Yousuf, Saleem Malik, Saeed Anwar and so on.After a lot of dilly-dallying, here are the 5 names that you may unanimously agree to.

#1 Javed Miandad

Javed has always been looked at upon as the country’s greatest batsman

According to some, he is ‘the greatest match-winner’ the game has ever witnessed. They believed he could do the impossible after his last ball ‘six’ of Chetan Sharma in Sharjah 1986. During those times, this was believed to be nothing short of a miracle and Javed got the status of a demi-god.

He was a dogged fighter and always kept a price on his wicket. Some felt he did not have a copybook style, but his grit and the appetite to win under any given circumstance was unmatched, especially against fond (sarcasm) opposition India. Parallels can be drawn with modern-day Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who likes to take the game deep before launching.

He also had a good cricketing brain which is so essential for any cricketer to have and also knew the art of finishing games. He had a strong square game, needed the gaps at will and his reverse sweeps were magical to the eyes. Javed played 233 one day internationals amassing 7381 runs at a rich and handsome average of 41.70, which highlights the point of him finishing games.

#2 Inzamam-ul-Haq

Inzi is Pakistan’s leading run-getter

‘Do not judge a book by its cover’, this phrase fits perfectly in the case of Inzamam. As a young player, he won many hearts with his sublime display of batting in the 1992 WC.

In fact, not much separates Miandad from Inzy apart from maybe the latter’s repertoire. Inzamam was at ease against pace and was good at lofting the spinners. He has scored 11,739 runs at an average of 39.52 (one has to understand he was not an opener) and in the process slamming 83 half centuries and 10 tons.

Often we saw him playing his most ‘magnificent’ knocks when Pakistan was ‘looking down the barrel’, a true crisis man. The ‘Multan man’ epitomized the art of finishing with touch.

#3 Wasim Akram

Wasim was without a doubt the greatest left-arm fast bowler

There is no secret as to why Pakistan is a fertile land for nurturing fast bowlers. The reasons are in plenty, but we will take a look at the most prominent reason named, Wasim Akram. He made the ball talk, with just his wrists.

When Wasim Akram burst onto the big stage during the 1992 WC, he was an unknown entity but by the time the tournament ended, he had emerged as the blue-eyed boy of Pakistan cricket. With his lethal, late reverse swing at pace, he sent the English batsman in a tizzy by running through the tail, in the WC 1992 finale.

Akram over the years lost pace, but his bagful of tricks always kept him in good stead. When we speak of match winners, this well-built left-armer should be leading the lists, unanimously. He played 356 limited over matches, which is a lot considering he was a fast bowler.

The ‘master of swing’ managed to scalp a mammoth 502 wickets at a meagre average of 23.5 and at a healthy economy of 3.89 runs/ over. A match-winner in the true sense of the word and to make the achievement sweeter, he did it in a ‘batsman’s world’ (that is the unfortunate reality, the imbalance between the bat and the ball).

#4 Saleem Malik

Malik had a great record against India

He had a complex technique, but you knew the game was far from over when he was batting. He oozed faith and provided hope for a win under any circumstance. Saleem Malik was unique in his approach and one always felt that he had a score in mind (calculative) and sets small achievable targets.

He was a player who fought for every inch on offer, almost similar to an army man; who is ready to lay down his life for the country. Malik, was among the many Pakistanis who played better when faced against ‘eastern-rivals, India.

The Lahore-born batsman’s career was cut short after he was found guilty of bribing Shane Warne and Mark Waugh to lose a match at Karachi, but his match-winning abilities still stand unchallenged. In a total of 283 limited over’s internationals, the wristy Pakistani scored 7170 runs at a respectful average of 32.88 (‘respectful’ because he came in late and was shouldering the responsibility of sealing matches, crunch situations).

#5 Saeed Ajmal

Ajmal was Pakistan’s most potent weapon over the last few years

This is a debatable pick considering the number of matches he has played, but can anyone doubt his match-winning abilities? Very few would. He is a late entrant to international cricket, probably a victim of ‘too many quality spinners in the same era’, Saqlain Mushtaq and Mushtaq Ahmed.

He is to a large extent, a more ‘evolved Saqlain’ with innumerable tricks up his sleeve; the doosra, regular off-breaks, the ball that ‘kicks-off a length’ and many more. The stand out feature of his bowling stemmed from the fact that he pitched the off-break and the ‘doosra’ on the same line and length, which made him impossible to pick. He had the knack of picking up wickets in a flurry, which on most occasions derailed the opposition.

Saeed Ajmal’s record narrates a story of a clear match winner; he scalped 184 wickets in just 113 ODI’s at an ‘unheard-off’ average of 22.72 (mind you, he played the game when the game had already evolved 2008-2015) and an even more ‘unbelievable’ economy of 4.18 runs/over.