NEVER has been the case with a top ODI side that its tailenders bat more sensibly and maturely than its regular batsmen. After all, job descriptions are very well defined in cricket. The batsmen have to put runs on the board and the bowlers have to defend them. But when it comes to Pakistan cricket, no job description or usual cricketing strategies apply. Things happen themselves and mostly the players that are pulling them off are unaware of what’s unfolding.

Pakistan went into the Champions Trophy as underdogs — a tag associated with them in every ICC tournament since the 2003 World Cup. Their batting has to do a great deal with the stigma. Their batsmen wear the tag with pride, according to veteran all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez on the eve of Monday’s match against Sri Lanka.

When it comes to thriving as a batting unit in one-day cricket, Pakistan are arguably the worst of all the Test nations. In the modern times, when 350 is the new 250, Pakistan have scored 300 above on just eight instances — once against Zimbabwe, Australia, Sri Lanka, England and associates Ireland, and thrice against the West Indies — since the 2015 World Cup. Not surprisingly, they have had an abysmal win/loss ratio of 0.857 in the 40 ODIs during that window.

They depend on players who have batted a few times in the international cricket or who are yet to face their first ball at the apex level. Their veteran batsmen fall cheaply. Their most successful batsman bats at number six. But yet, they somehow they sometimes sneak out of the trouble that allow them to get away with the flaws.

Two of their most experienced players haven’t even showed up in the Champions Trophy group stage. Batting at two-drop, Hafeez, a veteran of 188 ODIs, has 60 runs at a strike rate of 59.40 in three matches. Shoaib Malik, featuring in his 250th ODI against Sri Lanka, has managed just 42.

Things promised to be different when Pakistan faced Sri Lanka in what was virtually a quarter-final. After their pacers removed a whole lineup for the fifth time in their ODI history, Pakistan required 237 to win on a wicket that had no demons and had sun basking on it. The batsmen had a chance to free their arms and post decent scores against a mediocre bowling lineup before facing a daunting English attack in the semi-finals.

Logic would suggest one would build momentum before the most crucial match of the tournament. But when it comes to Pakistan’s batting, that also in a chase, there is not much reasoning to it.

After the suspension of a swashbuckling Sharjeel Khan, Fakhar Zaman stepped up and promised to be the solution to Pakistan’s opening woes. He had hammered one of the most fearsome duos of Wayne Parnell and Kagiso Rabada for three fours apiece, almost scoring at two runs per ball against the former, in his 31, which came at a strike rate of 134. He bettered his numbers against Sri Lanka, racing to his first ODI fifty at a rate of 138. This would make him the only Pakistan batsman (having faced more than 20 balls in a match) to have scored at more than run-a-ball in the tournament.

By the time Fakhar left the crease, he had done his job for Pakistan. With 163 required at four an over, it was time for Azhar Ali and Babar Azam to complete the cakewalk, but their soft dismissals left Pakistan reeling at four down for 110. Hafeez with an experience of over 14 years in the international circuit registered himself for the softest dismissal of the tournament, ballooning a length ball off a leading edge for the mid-on to take the catch, in between the two wickets.

Soon Pakistan required 75 from 121 balls, one cheap dismissal after other. Their captain Sarfraz Ahmed had Mohammad Amir in his company. Acknowledging the required run-rate to be under four they scored eight singles and two doubles in the next five overs, as the required score fell to 64 in the last 15 overs.

As the innings proceeded Amir batted with more awareness, picking up singles gentle pushes in the gaps. Sarfraz, on the other hand, lost his calm and felt the brunt, a fact he admitted in the post-match press conference. The Pakistan captain had two respites in his 79-ball 61 not out off Lasith Malinga’s bowling: the first when he was on 38, the second two runs later, each time trying to find the fence despite the require run-rate floating under four.

Amir continued to use his temperament as a deterrence against Angelo Mathews’ tactics. He timed the ball to perfection, making sure that the ball travels along the ground as soon as it leaves his bat, eradicating the infielders out of equation. His ultimate patience would see him hit just one four in his 43-ball 28 not out and lead Pakistan to a win by three wickets with 31 balls spare.

But life won’t be this gentle when they play an intimidating England on Wednesday.

Last year they played England in a five-match ODI series on the British shores and their batsmen contributed 33.425 per wicket. Twice they were bowled out in an eventual 4-1 series drubbing. The consolation victory came in the last ODI at Sofia Gardens in Cardiff, which happens to be the venue for the semi-final, when they crossed the 300-run mark.

Pakistan are required to pull something extraordinary out of the hat when it comes to their batting. But with the Pakistan, who knows what’s on the plate. They have by now embraced such erratic batsmanship and more often than not they bank on it to flourish in the format.

Published in Dawn, June 14th, 2017