DUBAI // Of all the things Pakistan cricket has given the world over the years, nothing appears to give quite so much joy at present as The Press Up.
The celebration patented by Misbah-ul-Haq so vividly after his century in last summer’s Lord’s Test, and mimicked by almost every Pakistani upon reaching a milestone since, got another airing on Saturday.
This time, though, it was borrowed by a West Indian to toast a famous win in the winner-probably-takes-all derby between Karachi Kings and Lahore Qalandars in the HBL Pakistan Super League.
Kieron Pollard hit the last two balls of the match for six to secure an improbable five-wicket success for Karachi that breathed life into a campaign that was otherwise over.
It edged Karachi above Lahore, into the final play-off berth in the competition, ahead of their final match against Islamabad United tonight.
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■ See also: Karachi Kings keep hope alive thanks to Pollard's late hitting
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Pollard responded in the appropriate fashion, by dropping down and performing some press ups beside his stumps.
“It was just on the spur of the moment,” Pollard said of his post-victory work out. “When the adrenaline is pumping things happen. It was a matter of enjoying that little moment, and then back to normal.”
On a turning pitch, Karachi had struggled pursuing the 156 they needed to win, against the high-class spin of Sunil Narine and Yasir Shah.
Pollard and Imad Wasim were left with the difficult task of taking 28 from the last two overs, which they whittled down to 14 off the last, bowled by Yasir Amin. The equation was still 10 needed from the last two balls, but Pollard managed that comfortably.
If the West Indian looked cool in his work, there is good reason. He said “there’s so many things in life to stress about than stressing in a cricket match,” and reasoned that the 26-year-old bowler would have been feeling the heat more than he was.
“Obviously my reputation around the world is for hitting sixes, so I know once I’m there that the bowler is going to be under pressure as well,” Pollard said.
“It’s just a matter of trying to execute and getting ball on to bat. And luckily enough, it went our way.”
For the second time in the first two years of PSL, Lahore face being eliminated at the group stage. Lahore and Karachi each have six points, but the Qalandars trail by 0.73 on net run-rate.
They need Islamabad to beat Karachi in the final match of the league phase, at the Dubai International Stadium tonight, and hope the margin is appreciable enough to knock Karachi’s run-rate back.
That is not an entirely impossible outcome, and Brendon McCullum, the Qalandars had a warning if they do get another chance in the competition.
“We will just wait and see,” McCullum said. “It is out of our control now. It is not a nice place to be, but we will sit back and see what unfolds. If we get another chance in this tournament, beware the wounded team.”
pradley@thenational.ae
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