PAKISTAN cricket experienced a mixed year in 2017 that comprised farewells, triumph and trial.

They started the year on a sour note by getting whitewashed Down Under as Australia cantered to another clinical result at the Sydney Cricket Ground to complete their fourth successive 3-0 sweep over Pakistan — 12 straight Test victories — dating back from the 1999-2000 season.

The reputation of the country was then thrown into disarray when the Pakistan Super League (PSL)’s second edition start was rocked by news of several players reported to be involved in spot-fixing and subsequently punished under PCB’s anti-corruption code after investigation which was backed by International Cricket Council (ICC)’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit.

Next to follow were the simultaneous retirements of elder statesmen Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan, as the duo together finished their international careers in the most appropriate manner as Pakistan finally ended their 59-year drought in the Caribbean with a Test series victory over the West Indies.

And then came the most memorable occasion when Pakistan won a global title after an eight-year hiatus as Sarfraz Ahmed led the country to ICC Champions Trophy win on a glorious English summer day at The Oval.

The long-awaited return of high-profile international cricket to the country was another milestone for the nation when a World XI visited Lahore for an official T20 series at the Gaddafi Stadium, which later also staged another T20 fixture against Sri Lanka, the team which came under terror attacks at the very same venue in March 2009.

A low point for the country was the inept capitulation in their first series since Younis and Misbah left the scene as Sarfraz began his tenure as the new Test leader on a dubious note as Pakistan lost their proud record of never losing a series in the United Arab Emirates with Sri Lanka sweeping the two-match series.

And then late in the year, Saeed Ajmal, the genial off-spinner who was forced out of international arena after becoming the most prominent victim of ICC’s crackdown on suspect bowling action three years earlier, followed into the footsteps of Misbah and Younis, who were his longtime team-mates during a successful period for Pakistan.

Having lost the day-night Test in Brisbane by a close margin of 39 runs, the traditional Boxing Day clash saw Pakistan completely losing their grip as Steve Smith’s Aussies sealed an innings and 18-run win. Come the New Year series finale in Sydney, there was no respite for Misbah and company. This time the Australians annihilated the tourists by 220 runs. The solitary shining light among the wreckage was Younis making history by scoring an undefeated 175 in the first innings to become the only player to register centuries in all 10-Test playing nations, plus at Pakistan’s adopted home in the UAE. His stupendous feat, of course, does not include either Afghanistan or Ireland, who were given the Test status in 2017 and are yet to play their first fixtures at the highest level.

Australia also went onto to clinch the ODI rubber by a 4-1 scoreline, with Pakistan’s only success of the tour coming in the second fixture at Melbourne where Mohammad Hafeez, deputizing for Azhar Ali, led them to a six-wicket win.

The month of February made headlines for all the wrong reasons due to the spot-fixing scandal in the PSL, the second edition of which began with the provisional suspension of Islamabad United’s opening pair of Sharjeel Khan and Khalid Latif.

Giant pacer Mohammad Irfan was handed a year’s ban from all forms of cricket after pleading guilty of charges for not reporting approaches from bookies to the authorities. It was subsequently reduced to six months after Irfan agreed to cooperate with the inquiry, although the fine of Rs1 million imposed stayed.

All-rounder Mohammad Nawaz was slapped with a two-month ban and fined Rs 200,000 on the same charges, while Nasir Jamshed — allegedly considered the middleman between players and the bookies — was banned for one year.

But both Sharjeel and Khalid were slapped with lengthy bans. Sharjeel was banned for five years after being found guilty on six major breaches of the PCB anti-corruption code with half of the sentence being a suspended one.

Khalid received a five-year ban, with no leniency offered, along with a fine of Rs1 million.

On the field of play, Peshawar Zalmi emerged winners of PSL’s second edition. The decision to play the final in Lahore meant Quetta Gladiators’ first-choice foreign players all refused to travel to Pakistan and their replacements not being that proficient to prevent Gladiators ending up runners-up for the second year running.

As expected Pakistan were too good for the feeble West Indies at the start of the Caribbean trip, whitewashing the hosts 3-1 in the T20 series before Sarfraz and company pocketed the ODI rubber 2-1. The tourists then achieved a hat-trick of series victories across all formats with the 2-1 success in the Tests.

Younis began his final journey by becoming the first — and thus far the only one — from Pakistan to go past 10,000 runs in the opening Test in Kingston, Jamaica where Misbah stood out with an unbeaten 99 in the first innings before his side won by seven wickets.

West Indies bounced back in the second Test in Bridgetown, Barbados to snatch victory by 106 runs when Pakistan collapsed inexplicably to 36-7 before limping to an equally shocking 81 all out in the final innings.

Curiously enough, Misbah again failed by a single run to reach three figures as the veteran right-hander, who turned 43 on May 28, was dismissed by West Indies counterpart Jason Holder.

With the series beautifully balanced, the deciding clash at Roseau in Dominica provided an intense battle of attrition. Azhar Ali got a century for the second straight Test as the opener followed 105 in Barbados with 127.

Roston Chase also got his second ton of the series but was left stranded on 101 when West Indies lost their last wicket in the dramatic style possible. The whole of Pakistan and countless supporters of the national team across the universe had earnestly hoped for a grand farewell to Misbah and Younis.

West Indies needed no more than two deliveries of a pulsating last over of the game to share the series. Yasir Shah had bowled as well as he could but even the bubbly spinner found it hard to pierce through the impregnable defence of Shannon Gabriel until the penultimate delivery when the No. 11 lost his head with a wild heave, only to chop the ball onto the stumps.

The scenes thereafter were heartrending and profusely emotion-filled as jubilant team-mates and the onrushing support staff hoisted Misbah and Younis on their shoulders to give them a thoroughly deserving send-off they’ll never forget.

Younis — who pulled curtains down on his glittering career with 10,099 runs from 118 Tests with 34 hundreds — and Misbah plundered 15,321 runs and made 44 centuries between them in 193 Tests. Overall, together they piled up a staggering 28,212 international runs across all three formats.

It was inevitable Pakistan were going to struggle with a yawning gap left to fill in their somewhat brittle middle order batting. This shortcoming was woefully exposed some months later in the first Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi when Pakistan imploded for 114 while chasing only 136 before went onto to lose the day/night Test in Dubai by 68 runs.

That pall of gloom aside, 2017 brought sheer joy for the Pakistanis on June 18, a day when India were outplayed in the Champions Trophy final after Pakistan’s nervy start in the tournament as Virat Kohli’s men strolled to a 124-run win under D/L method after rain disrupted action at Edgbaston.

However, there was another twist in the tale and a much-needed fillip for Sarfraz’s charges, who were in a do-or-die situation from then onwards. Pakistan edged past South Africa and Sri Lanka in the remaining group matches before surprising tournament favourites England with a rousing eight-wicket victory in the semi-final at Cardiff.

On the big day itself, there were more surprises in store. Fakhar Zaman announced himself to the cricketing world with a dominant 114 off 106 balls to power Pakistan to a commanding 338-4 before Mohammad Amir rocked the Indians with a fiery burst upfront as the left-armer sent back Rohit Sharma, Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan in the space of 28 balls in his opening spell.

There was no looking back for Pakistan as the clinical 180-run victory margin confirmed their superiority, coinciding with the emergence of new cult hero in fast bowler Hasan Ali who was deservingly voted man-of-the-tournament.

Pakistan further maintained their supremacy in the ODI and T20, brushing aside Sri Lanka 8-0 in the two formats and also winning the World XI fixtures 2-1.

Meanwhile on the administrative front, Najam Sethi was elected as the 30th chairman of the PCB upon completion of octogenarian Shaharyar Moham­mad Khan’s second tenure in August.

Published in Dawn, December 31st, 2017