Pakistan cricket is tagged with the label of unpredictability. Capricious, mercurial, temperamental, even crossing the winning line can have a strong element of drama. Triumph through an opulent display of prodigious talent or a nerve racking, error strewn crawl towards an easy target, Pakistan has a special ability to make a mockery of conventional norms.This trait is well highlighted in the two categories of unusual wins that we have focused on today, it's ability to beguile by making the improbable look easy or frustrate by approaching a simple stroll to the finish with the apprehension merited by a trap laden hazard course.

Winning despite
losing four wickets or less in a Test match

On 39 occasions in the long history of Test cricket, a team has won a Test without losing more than four wickets in the entire match. Three of these instances belong to Pakistan. The most recent example is the recently concluded Test against Bangladesh at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka.

Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat, reaching 161 for 2 by the end of a rain curtailed first day, during which only 57 overs could be bowled. Azhar Ali on 36 and Babar Azam on 60 were the two unbeaten batsmen, who had put together 91 runs for the 3rd wicket without being separated. The 2nd day saw even less play as a total of just 6.2 overs could be bowled during which Pakistan advanced to 188 without further loss, with Azhar on 52 and Babar Azam on 71, at the crease. There was no play at all on the 3rd day, making a definitive result look very unlikely.

On the 4th day, Pakistan's predictable unpredictability now kicked in. Though Azhar and Babar both fell early for 56 and 76 respectively, unbeaten fifties from Fawad Alam with 50 and Mohammad Rizwan with 53, who shared an undefeated 4th wicket partnership of 106, took Pakistan to 300 for 4, before they declared.

When Bangladesh started their innings, the umpires soon decided that because of poor light the game couldn't continue if Pakistan deployed its fast bowlers. Restricted to using their spinners, Pakistan had Bangladesh in trouble with 3 wickets for 22 in 10.1 overs before tea. After tea, by the time play was called off an hour early due to fading light, Bangladesh had slumped further to 76 for 7, Sajid taking 6 of the 7 wickets to fall during the innings. Najmul Hasan Shanto scored 30, while Shakaib ul Hasan was unbeaten with 26.

Early the next morning Bangladesh we're all out for 87 with Shakib making 33. Sajid had 8 wickets for 42, the fourth best performance ever in an innings, by any Pakistani bowler. Following on Bangladesh were soon in trouble again as the Pakistani pace attack ripped through their top four wickets for only 25 in 8.1 overs. Scores of 48 by Mushfiq, 45 by Liton Das and a fifty by Shakib steadied Bangladesh, taking them to 198 for 6, when the last mandatory 15 overs began. Babar Azam brought himself on to bowl in a surprise move and dismissed Mehdy Miraz, followed by 3 quick wickets from Sajid Khan to wrap up the Bangladeshi innings for 205, with just 5.2 overs of play remaining. Pakistan had won by an innings and 8 runs, with Sajid taking 12 for 128.

The first occasion on which Pakistan won a Test despite losing only four wickets or less in the match, occurred in January 1983 when they met India at the Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad in the 4th Test of that series. Winning the toss Pakistan batted first, and lost the wickets of Mohsin Khan and Haroon Rashid with only 60 runs on the board. Mudassar Nazar was then joined by Javed Miandad, and scoring freely, they took Pakistan to 224 for 2 by the end of the first day's play, with Mudassar on 92 and Miandad on 96. The partnership was finally broken late on the next day when Mudassar was eventually dismissed for 231, with Pakistan's score at 511. He had added 451 runs for the 3rd wicket with Javed Miandad in just 533 minutes, equaling the world record of the time for the highest partnership in Test cricket, set up by Bradman and Ponsford versus England at the Oval in 1934. When stumps were drawn for the 2nd day Pakistan had reached 515 for 3, with Miandad on 238, the first time that two Pakistani batsmen had scored double centuries in the same innings of a Test. Much to everyone's surprise Imran declared on the 3rd morning with Pakistan's total at 581 for 3, leaving Miandad stranded on 280, when the entire country was rooting for him to break the world record individual score of 365, established by Sobers in 1958. Imran's declaration created much controversy then and has been hotly debated in Pakistani cricket circles ever since.

In reply, India were routed for just 189, with Imran taking 6 wickets for 35, including a devastating burst of 5 wickets for merely 8 runs in just 23 balls. The only Indian resistance came from Mohinder Amarnath with 61 and a late flourish from Balwinder Sandhu who scored 71. Following on, 392 runs behind, India put up an improved performance in their second outing but it was not enough to avert defeat. Fifties from Sunil Gavaskar, Mohinder Amarnath and Dilip Vengsarkar enabled India to muster 273 all out, leaving Pakistan victors by an innings and 119 runs. Pakistan had lost just three wickets in the process of winning this match.

In August 2001 Pakistan met Bangladesh at Multan, in a match which was part of the Asian Test Championship. Bangladesh won the toss and batted first but were bowled out for a paltry 134, with Danish Kaneria taking 6 wickets for 42 runs. Pakistan responded with a massive total of 546 runs for 3 wickets declared, scoring at almost five runs an over. This included a century on test debut by Pakistan's new opener Taufeeq Omar, who made 104. Taufeeq was the first left-handed Pakistani debutant to notch up a century in his initial Test. His opening partner Saeed Anwar reached 101, and this was the first occasion in Test history where two left-handed openers had both scored a century in the same innings. Interestingly there were five individual centuries in the Pakistan innings, a feat that had only been achieved once previously, by Australia against West Indies at Kingston, Jamaica, in 1955. The other centurions in this innings were Inzamam, who retired hurt on 105, Mohammad Yousuf who remained unbeaten with 102 and Abdul Razzaq who made 110 not out off just 100 deliveries.

Bangladesh fared only marginally better in their second outing, being dismissed for a mere 148. Habibul Bashar was the only batsman who could handle the Pakistani bowling onslaught, making an unbeaten 58. Danish Kaneria had another big haul with 6 for 52, which gave him match figures of 12 for 94. Waqar Younis took the remaining four wickets in this innings for just 19 runs. Pakistan won by the overwhelming margin of an innings and 264 runs, losing just three wickets during the entire course of the Test.

These three Test victories showcase Pakistan at its best, brimming with an abundance of natural talent, playing with flair and finesse, vanquishing opponents with arrogant ease, leaving memories to savour for an entire lifetime.

The pendulum of Pakistan cricket can, however, oscillate to another extreme as well. A carelessly indifferent approach, a sudden surge of self-doubt, an impetuous, self-destructive, kamikaze streak, can transform a casual cakewalk into a needlessly nail biting finish, a classical molehill into mountain conversion that often epitomizes our cricket.

Winning Tests by just 3 wickets or less when chasing targets of 150 or lower

There are 11 instances in Test cricket history, when a team has won a Test by just three wickets or less when chasing a target of 150 runs or lower. Pakistan is the side involved in two of these cases and on both occasions their opponents were England.

In 1984 England toured Pakistan. In the opening Test of the series at Karachi, England won the toss and batted first. They were completely at sea against Abdul Qadir, collapsing from 90 for 1 wicket to 182 all out, with only David Gower managing to reach fifty. Qadir took 5 for 74. Pakistan responded with 277 including an innings of 74 from Saleem Malik and a contribution of 58 by Mohsin Hasan Khan. Nicholas Cook was England's most successful bowler with 6 wickets for 65 runs.

England fared even worse in their 2nd innings managing only 159 runs, with David Gower scoring his second fifty of the match. Between them, the Pakistani spinners Abdul Qadir, Wasim Raja and Tauseef Ahmed took 8 of the 10 wickets to fall. Incidentally this was the first Test in which the brothers Wasim and Ramiz Raja played together

Pakistan were left with only 65 runs to make for victory, almost a mere formality. At 17 without loss the target was under fifty, but with Cook's early introduction into the attack Pakistan lapsed into one of their inexplicable panic modes, sapped of self-belief and confidence, making very heavy weather of Nick Cook's orthodox left arm spin. At 40 for 6, England smelled a possible, totally unforeseen and bizarre victory, but the young debutant wicket keeper Anil Dalpat, the first Hindu to play for Pakistan, showing admirable calm, added 19 runs for the 7th wicket with Abdul Qadir, and finally Sarfaraz Nawaz edged Norman Cowans to the boundary to get Pakistan over the finish line with a three wicket win. Cook had figures of 5 wickets for just 18 runs. It had been an unexpectedly close call for Pakistan

Pakistan toured England in 1992 and in the 2nd Test at Lords they once again stuttered and stumbled while chasing a modest target. England batted first after winning the toss and were comfortably placed at 123 without loss, but then lost their way after Wasim Akram removed Graham Gooch for 69. Waqar Younis got into the act and using pace and reverse swing cleaned up the English middle order with a devastating spell, in which he took 4 for 17 in 40 deliveries. Alec Stewart made 74 and England were dismissed for 255.

Pakistan replied confidently and were happily perched at 228 for 3, with 73 from Aamir Sohail and fifties from Asif Mujtaba and Saleem Malik. But now a mini collapse set in as they were bowled out for 293, giving Pakistan a lead of 38 runs. Apart from a cultured 69 by Stewart, England's second innings performance was quite mediocre. Mushtaq Ahmed initiated the rot by dismissing Graeme Hick, Robin Smith and Alan Lamb in the space of 22 deliveries. Waqar and Wasim then cleaned up the tail and England were all out for 175, leaving Pakistan 138 to get for victory.

Pakistan were soon 18 for 3, as Chris Lewis got the prized scalps of Ramiz Raja, Asif Mujtaba and Javed Miandad, who were all dismissed without scoring. Aamir Sohail was holding the fort, but when he was out for 39, Pakistan were 68 for 6, which soon became 95 for 8 with the departure of Moin Khan and Mushtaq Ahmed. Pakistan had once again faltered on their route and looked close to defeat. Wasim, who was still at the wicket, was now joined by Waqar, and using a combination of pragmatic defence and attack, their unbeaten stand of 46 got Pakistan past the winning post for a two wicket win. In an unusual twist of circumstances the great duo of Wasim and Waqar had delivered as a batting partnership.

Unpredictability has its advantages. It makes the team unique and inscrutable, perplexing opponents and making them wary about expecting the unsuspected. Wrong footing your rival is always a good gambit in any competitive sport.

Dr Salman Faridi is a senior surgeon, poet, sports aficionado and an avid reader with a private collection of over 7000 books.

salmanfaridilnh@hotmail.com