Ajmal, Rehman have bloomed under the captaincy of Misbah

By Vidula S. Menge 

Just when the cricketing fraternity thought that the art of spin bowling was on the verge of a rapid decline in an era dominated by fast bowlers, Pakistan’s recent success against the touring Englishmen has put an emphatic end to all doubts whatsoever. The powerful England batting floundered repeatedly against the quality bowling attack of Saeed Ajmal and Abdul Rehman. Their combined efforts saw them haul 43 wickets in the Test series, which helped the Pakistanis in annihilating the World’s No.1 Test side. 

While Ajmal was still celebrating his phenomenal success in the series, questions were being raised over the legality of his bowling action. Thankfully, those were cleared by the International Cricket Council (ICC) soon enough and the off-spinner heaved a sigh of relief.  

Pakistani cricket has been through a lot of ups and downs in the recent past, be it the controversial spot-fixing scandal or Shahid Afridi’s temporary exit from cricket. But amidst all this, Ajmal scripted his own fairytale, starting with the first Test against England in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where he scalped 10 wickets in the match, including innings figures of 7 for 55 – a career best. He harassed the Englishmen with a variety of deliveries, which included the ‘Teesra’ – a ploy that he unleashed to play on the minds of the opposition. 

It is fascinating to see Ajmal and Abdur Rehman flourish. The mastermind behind the success of the spin twins is captain Misbah-ul-Haq. A man of few words, Misbah has shown tremendous faith in his bowlers that helped them come good. Ajmal had an average beginning to his career in 2008, but under the tutelage of Misbah, he blossomed. Rehman debuted in 2007 but was soon dropped. However, his return to the international circuit in 2010 worked wonders for himself as well as the team. 

Ajmal became the fastest Pakistani bowler to get to 100 wickets – surpassing Mohammad Asif – by bagging seven wickets in the second Test against England. He reached this landmark in just 19 matches. Little wonder why Ajmal is being termed as the ‘Doosra Saqlain Mushtaq’. But even the great Saqlain took four more games than Ajmal to get to the 100-wicket mark. Three of his four five-wicket hauls, including a 10-wicket haul, have come in 2011 – a year that made him the leading wicket-taker in Tests – 50 wickets in just eight games at a fantastic average of 23.86. More importantly, Pakistan won five of those eight matches that he played. 

The fact that all this happened under Misbah’s captaincy is noteworthy. In the past two years, Ajmal has played a total of 12 Tests, maintaining a wonderful strike rate of 54.2, against what he did when he played under Mohammad Yousuf. (Four wickets in two matches at a strike rate of 186.0) 

Rehman, on the other hand, has played under just one captain before Misbah as opposed to Ajmal’s three. In the two games under Shoaib Malik, Rehman grabbed 11 wickets. Three years later, the left-arm orthodox bowler has got 64 wickets from 13 Tests. Pakistan have truly found an ably spin allay for Ajmal. 

It’s said that spinner takes time to mature. Ajmal is 35 and Rahman is almost 32. Maybe they are at the peak of their prowess. It certainly augurs well for Pakistan – even if it’s for a short time, considering the advancing age of the two spinners. Unquestionably, the two have given much joy for Pakistan – a nation that has been yearning for positive news from its cricket and cricketers.

(Bitten by cricket bug at a young age, Vidula‘s passion for the game has seen her evolve into a cricket writer. She considers herself fortunate to have grown up in the Sachin Tendulkar Era and comment on the game and players through the magic of writing. She blogs at http://wickettowicket-vidula.blogspot.in/)