If 2021 was the year of 'mauka' revenge for cricket fans, 2022 will be remembered as the year of near misses — or wasted maukas.

The recurring theme throughout the year was the pursuit of glory that ended up in anguish for Babar Azam and Co. But where men's cricket disappointed, others sprang some wonderful surprises despite getting a mere fraction of attention and support.

Dawn.com took a magnifying glass to the outgoing year and found a few head-scratching moments from cricket — but just as many head-turning moments from sports not named cricket:

From laughing stocks to PSL champs — Lahore Qalandars make transition

Those who have been following the Pakistan Super League from its very inception would know that Lahore Qalandars were perennial failures and rooted to the bottom for the first four seasons.

When they finally vacated the bottom in 2020, they made it all the way to the final where they were beaten by bitter rivals Karachi Kings. 2021 was another year to forget but the February of 2022 will be remembered as the time when they finally did for the first time what all other franchises had already done: become PSL champions.

The Qalandars started the tournament with a defeat but then won six of their next eight matches, and made it to the playoffs. The hot favourites for the title were Multan Sultans who lost just once in the round-robin stage and routinely steamrolled whoever they faced. However, in the final, Lahore flattened Multan to win the maiden title.

The Qalandars basically rode the high production of two of their star players: Shaheen Afridi and Fakhar Zaman, with both topping the wickets and runs chart for the tournament respectively.

Whiz-kid Ahsan Ramzan beats opponent twice his age in IBSF final

In March, teenage cueist Ahsan Ramzan caused an upset far beyond his years as he won the International Billiards and Snooker Federation World Snooker Championship in Doha.

The 16-year-old snooker prodigy beat Iran's Amir Sarkhosh — a rival almost twice as old — in an epic final.

Trailing 4-2, he staged a memorable comeback to eventually triumph 6-5 as he became the second-youngest cueist to win the title.

Arshad Nadeem brings home CWG gold

In August, javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem cemented his status of a national hero as he rewrote record books to secure gold medal at the Commonwealth Games (CWG).

Nadeem not only bagged gold but also became the first javelin thrower from the sub-continent to surpass the 90-metre mark at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

His exceptional feat at the CWG ended a 56-year medal drought in track and field at the Games for the country.

Arshad was one of Pakistan’s leading hopes for a medal going into the event, but without a coach and with a heavily taped throwing elbow due to an injury, odds were against him. Yet, he stood out among all his competitors.

Nooh lifts his way to CWG gold

The month of August delivered another moment of national pride when weightlifter Nooh Dastagir Butt won the gold medal for Pakistan in the Commonwealth Games 2022 with a record lift of 405kg.

This was the first gold for Pakistan in any category in the Games. Earlier in the same competition, judoka Hussain Shah had won a bronze medal in the men’s 90kg category.

Pakistan Women beat India in Asia Cup

It's unfortunate but Pakistan Women often fly under the shadow of its male counterparts. However, for a day in August, that changed when Bismah Maroof and Co beat India by 13 runs in their Women’s Asia Cup clash at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium, Bangladesh.

It was only their third victory over India in 13 T20 internationals, and the star of the show was allrounder Nida Dar. First, she hammered an impressive 37-ball 56 to help Pakistan post 137 and then claimed two wickets for 23 runs that proved another decisive moment in the game.

If it wasn't for a single-run defeat to Sri Lanka in the semis, there would have been another showdown with India in the final.

Pakistan men's team let Asia Cup slip away

For a team of their stature, Pakistan have won the Asia Cup just twice, with the last of their triumphs coming a decade ago.

Babar Azam's men had the opportunity to end that drought when they somehow made it to the final of the Asia Cup 2022 in September despite winning most of their matches by slim margins (except for the 155-run shellacking of Hong Kong).

In the final, they had Sri Lanka's backs to the wall at 53-4 when they took their foot off the gas. Unnecessarily defensive approach from that point and a batting collapse in the run chase saw them lose by 23 runs. It was the first of twin falls at the final hurdle.

Pakistan nearly recreate 1992

In October, Pakistan began their T20 World Cup campaign with a nightmare start by losing to India in the opener and then suffering a shock defeat at the hands of Zimbabwe in the second game that brought them on the verge of exiting the tournament. When all seemed lost, the unpredictable Team Green turned the table on its opponents and staged a dramatic comeback, thanks to some quality cricket but also luck.

Babar Azam and Co got their confidence back with a win over South Africa in the Super 12 stage and never looked back until England disrupted their march towards the title in the final.

In the final, the batting was subdued but the bowlers still made a match out of whatever little they had to defend, and if it wasn't for pace ace Shaheen Afridi's untimely injury, things could have been very different.

Australia and England's unforgettable visits, forgettable results

If all the previous years were stepping stones, the year 2022 was the destiny that was so eagerly awaited.

The outgoing year saw the Australian men's cricket team tour Pakistan after 24 years, England after 17 years and around the time this piece sees the light of day, New Zealand will also have arrived on these shores.

That would leave India as the only top cricket team that has not visited Pakistan in recent years.

It was a remarkable turnaround for a country that not so long ago was — as former prime minister Imran Khan put it — only attracting relu kattas (second stringers). The journey to restore confidence of touring teams in Pakistan's improved security situation began years ago with the launch of PSL. Along the way there were plenty of bumps and bruises — the last of which came last year when the Kiwis quit the tour at the eleventh hour.

In the end, the finish line of a years-long journey was finally crossed towards the tail end of 2022.

On the results front, Pakistan were beaten 1-0 by Australia and whitewashed 3-0 by England in their own backyard. It gave a timely reminder of how far Babar and his men have fallen in the longest format.

Kratos and Wolverine turn back the clock

In 2022, Pakistani athletes won several battles against their Indian opponents but perhaps none were more emphatic than mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Uloomi Karim's single-punch KO of Dhruv Chaudhary in November.

By putting his bigger opponent to sleep, the man nicknamed Kratos claimed the bantamweight title in the Matrix Fight Night promotion.

Just a day later, Karim's former Fight Fortress teammate Ahmed Mujtaba was just as impressive as he submitted Brazil's Abraao Amorim in One Championship 163 in Singapore.

The man nicknamed Wolverine's victory was a head turner as it came against a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt in the first round of their contest via a triangle choke.

It was almost a re-run of what transpired six years ago when Karim and Mujtaba — both at the start of their international careers — had registered wins on the same day in World Series of Fighting Global Championship in Manila, Philippines. Coincidentally, Karim had beaten an Indian opponent on that day as well.

---

Compiled by Azhar Khan

Banner image by Saad Arifi