!تم جیتو یا ہارو، سنو، ہمیں تم سے پیار ہے

(Sorry for the cheesiness of the title, but that song is stuck in my head. :D)

I have to admit I shed a few tears and was incredibly disappointed when they lost, but you know what? I'm still so, so proud of Us. I'm proud of most of the Pakistani media who've mostly shown support even after the defeat, instead of tearing them down like the Indian media always, always does and embarrassingly so, I'm proud that the men in Green held their nerve which anticipated on of the largest audience around the world in the history of cricket, I'm proud that through the intense lows they've gone through as the previous year progressed, they came out, they showed the world they're fighters, and fought with pride in a high pressure semi final everyone had created the biggest hype about.

Thinking about it, it's funny. Why does that ball running away for Four runs matter so much to us? Why do we shout so much in jubilation when the bails of the wicket fall down? Why does cricket mean so much to us? I think it's because it showcases what we truly hold as a nation. When we're out there playing, nobody associates you from any city, nobody thinks about where you born, they see you as Pakistani fighting on the biggest cricket stage, and battling it out with every thing they've got.

You know what's most amazing? Pakistan and Pakistan cricket alike has gone through the roughest stages in it's sixty seven ( I think) years of it's existence in the past few years, their cricket stadiums have been ripped off the right to be played in because of 'security' issues, scandals, chaos - everything. And still - they emerged as a fighting team, topping their group with successive win, and knowing that every single Pakistani around the globe would be praying for them.

Cricket is that one platform that allows us to unite truly. No political parties, no discrimination, no ethnicity taken into consideration - just one nation backing 11 men fighting their hearts out on the field. And that is why cricket means so much to us. In the words of Shahid Afridi, we're an emotional nation. We crack fireworks when we win, and cry when we lose. But when Pakistan gives us one platform to unite, we can do things people don't imagine us capable of. Cricket is that one showdown we give to the world, where we can display what true strength our nation can have, if they have just that one cause to unite them all.

Misbah-ul-haq may have wasted all the balls of the world, we may have dropped 6 catches in one match alone, we may have lost in the end by 29 runs, but you know what? We've fought. And that's just how Pakistanis roll. And when we fight with spirit, when we fight with this oozing enthusiasm, the world stops and stares. Because that's what we are capable of. This is our cricket team and this is our nation. We're unpredictable. One day we'll drop down in pits of defeat, the other we'll fly heights no one's ever flown.

We just need that one leader to give us purpose. Just that one leader. And then, it'll be us and it'll be the world's stunned faces. We love the very sand of our nation, we love the people, we love Pakistan, we hate - nay - detest our leaders, but more importantly, we love cricket! And just like one day we'll lift the World Cup again like in 1992, one day we will all see Pakistan hit Sixers through out the world, bowl out any obstacles in our way, catch any grenades thrown at us and run our opponents out by those same grenades - and one day, we will be champions of not only world cricket, we will be champions of the whole world if we try hard enough, Insha'allah, ofcourse. Pakistan Zindabad!

There is still hope, dear Pakistan. But only if we, as it's people, are warriors and play to our strengths under good leadership, which is exactly the formula for good cricket also. Maybe one day Inshallah we'll get that leadership and soar. Soar heights no one's ever seen. Inshallah. =)