SuperSport will be calmer and more settled

Weren’t Pakistan in meltdown only two weeks ago?

Yes, they were. As the differences in places go, they were in hell and now they are residing in a sporting Jannah (heaven). It’s been well documented how this team had struggled to qualify for the ICC Champions Trophy, were ranked No 8 – last of the competing teams – on the ODI rankings, and been humbled by their arch-rivals India in their opening game. But that’s not even the half of it. Add the extra spice of not being able to play home games for a decade, sending home one of their preciously few X-factor batsmen, Umar Akmal, due to fitness issues prior to the tournament and lost their most experienced fast bowler, Wahab Riaz, to injury in that India humiliation, and this masala should have been too hot for even the most ardent Pakistan fan to continue believing.

Is Mohammed Amir back to his best?

Perhaps Mark Nicholas said it best: “His God was ready to forgive, but not to reward.” It was a reference to Amir’s comeback after serving a five-year suspension for his ill-fated part in the spot-fixing drama that engulfed the English summer of 2010. Upon his initial return to international cricket, Amir found the edge with the same regularity as before but only to see his teammates spill the chances behind the wicket. Even on Sunday when Pakistan virtually could do no wrong, Azhar Ali – who refused to train with Amir after the bowler was allowed back into the national set-up – put down a straightforward chance off Indian captain Virat Kohli’s outside edge at first slip. Only this time the “Cricket Gods” pardoned Amir and blessed him with success just one a ball later.

Pakistan bowling coach Azhar Mahmood believes Amir is only “bowling at 70 percent potential” and that he “needs to put his foot on the throttle and just go”. He certainly did in the final, when his deliveries zipped both ways off the surface. This stirring performance should put to bed ghosts of his own making that will hopefully allow him to fully unlock his potential.

Is Fakhar Zaman the real deal?

Absolutely. For the moment that is. He is everything Pakistan needed to transform their reliable 1990s Nokia 3310 into a modern-day smartphone that is able to download any application necessary. He plays with the sort of flair that encompasses the “fearless brand of cricket” Mickey Arthur wants from his charges.

At 27, he’s been around long enough on the Pakistani domestic scene to average 51.48 over the course of his List A career, so Zaman definitely understands his high-risk game plan that involves belligerent cuts, pulls and marches down the wicket.

Going forward, though, the opposition will be much better prepared to counter his style through video analysts and bowling coaches, because as Kohli said “eighty percent of his shots were high risk” so Plan A will not always prove successful. It’s up to this hugely talented individual and Pakistan’s coaching staff to improve the other areas of his game, particularly rotation of strike and running between wickets, in order for Zaman to not feel the pressure of having to find the boundary.

Can they win the 2019 World Cup?

Logic dictates that Pakistan should not be able to repeat this marvellous achievement in two years’ time. But if we were only adhering to so-called “logic”, then Pakistan would have had no right to lift this Champions Trophy in the first place.

Equally, their victory at The Oval on Sunday was no fluke. They beat South Africa, Sri Lanka and England just to reach their moment of destiny before delivering a near-perfect performance against India. Four massive victories on the trot from a team that is supposedly inconsistent. By some form of fate they have also discovered a balance in their team that was previously lacking. A solid-dynamic opening pair (Azhar and Zaman), a classy No 3 (Babar Azam), experience in the middle-order (Shoaib Malik and Mohammed Hafeez), combative all-rounder and wicketkeeper (Imad Wasim and Safraz), who are complemented by the most-attacking bowling unit consisting of pace and leg-spin (Amir, Hasan Ali, Junaid Khan and Shadab Khan). Freed now from the weight of possibly of having to qualify for the next World Cup, Arthur can focus solely on further developing this group and some other fresh faces (Rumman Raees and Faheem Ashraf) into really embracing this positive mindset blowing through Pakistan cricket at the moment. IT’S not quite the second bite of the cherry that would have meant most to them this season, but SuperSport United have another chance tonight to prove they have staying power.

Currently occupying top spot in Group D of their Caf Confederation Cup campaign, which includes title holders TP Mazembe from the Democratic Republic of Congo, the South African side hosts the defending champions at the Lucas Moripe Stadium looking to put one foot in the quarter-finals with a win.

SuperSport failed in their quest to clinch the PSL title during the 2016-17 season despite occupying top spot for several weeks, until the loss of form saw eventual champions Wits leapfrog to the top as they slumped to fifth place.

The Confederation Cup is altogether a different kettle of fish compared to a league marathon. Matsatsantsa are currently pace-setters with Undoubtedly the poisoned chalice of cricket coaching and captaincy posts in world cricket. It was a major surprise when Arthur, pictured, signed up for the job. Why would a man known for not wanting to watch the final overs of a nerve-tingling ODI during his time with South Africa, and more famously for dropping Australian cricketers from a Test match for not doing their “homework”, want to be in charge of a team renowned for recklessness and ill-discipline? Surely, this was a recipe for disaster? But Arthur, for all his likeableness – arguably the nicest man in cricket – has a tough streak that is uncompromising even when former captains are publicly calling for his head like Mohammad Yousuf did after the India defeat. He’s also a meticulous planner and is able to provide Pakistan with the sort of direction they often lack. The marriage is nowhere near a perfect match, but Arthur admits the intake of “a lot more chill pills” and his undying faith and belief in a highly talented but flawed group of cricketers has helped this Pakistan team find a way to be successful. Safraz Ahmed, meanwhile, is born from the soil Pakistan are no longer allowed to play international cricket on. A street fighter in the mould of the great Javed Miandad, but blessed with less talent to not have the ego that escorts it. A leader who plays for his team first and foremost – a characteristic not often accompanied with Pakistani captains – he carries his men on his back and hauls them through the tough situations like in that incredible eighth-wicket partnership with Amir against Sri Lanka in Cardiff that booked Pakistan’s place in the playoffs.

Most importantly, the pair seem to share a healthy respect for each other both on and off the field, which bodes well for a long-term partnership. five points from their three group games, and victory over Mazembe, a side they held to a 2-2 draw in Kinshasa two weeks ago, would make them early favourites to progress to the next phase.

“We have two big games this week which have different requirements in terms of performance,” said SuperSport assistant coach Kaitano Tembo.

Tembo has had to step up quite a bit lately as current head coach Stuart Baxter has had to come and go because of his other commitment as Bafana Bafana mentor. Tembo was also referring to the Nedbank Cup final against Orlando Pirates in Durban on Saturday night.

It was Tembo, held in high esteem by the players given that he is a former club captain and due to his role now in the technical team, who travelled to the DRC as Baxter stayed behind to prepare Bafana for their 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against its Nigeria last weekend.

“I think we were intimidated and unsettled there in the first 20 minutes,” Tembo recalled of SuperSport’s trip to face Mazembe.

“But we settled down and realised they can be beaten and we forced them to make mistakes with the way we played our game.

“I know that we will be a lot calmer and more settled this time around because the conditions are different when we play at home, obviously.”

Mazembe wouldn’t have won this competition last year if they were not good travellers, and Tembo expects them not to sit back, especially given that a place in the next round is still very much up for grabs.

“We expect them to come at us,” he said. “They like to have the ball and have good players (for their style), among them Tresor Mputu and their captain Rainford Kalaba.

“They are dangerous when it comes to one-on-one situations.”