Rauf arouses the animal instincts of Karachians with his lightning speed

He didn't bother with the clever changes and deft touches that are staples of twenty-over bowling nowadays.

Mohammad Hasnain has the raw pace and ability to be a Pakistani fast bowler. Still, somewhere along the highly guarded state secret that is the Pakistan pace-bowling production line, enthusiastic confidence was forgotten in favour of a delicate vulnerability.

Hasnain had been his team's lone bright spot all day, but he eventually buckled under the pressure of defending a total they had no business protecting. Hasnain's self-doubt seemed to grow with each boundary Liam Dawson smashed, the young quick's assurance taking a hammering as Dawson pounded madly away. By the time the over ended, Hasnain, who looked both like the happiest child in the world and like someone on the point of being overwhelmed, was punch-drunk, and Pakistan was on the brink of defeat.

The 22-year-old possesses the most contagious smile in Pakistani cricket, but he didn't even bother to lift his head as he stumbled towards the midwicket boundary. Hasnain had England on the ropes in the powerplay earlier that night, and Karachi was aglow with his brilliance. As early as the 16th over, he was so sure of himself that he threw six consecutive yorkers, four of them to the same hitter who had just ripped him apart. A second man marked his run-up as he stepped onto the boundary rope and kept his gaze firmly on the ground.

Nothing went wrong on the assembly line the day they made Haris Rauf; he may have gotten some of Hasnain's outgoing personality and self-assurance. England seems to have come out of nowhere and is now in a position to steal a game they have no business in. It only took one over for Pakistan to move from joy to despair. However, Rauf speaks for the Lahore Qalandars, so he is familiar with that sentiment.

Babar Azam has buried his head in his hands to express his disbelief. As a native of Lahore, many locals hoped he'd be drafted by the Qalandars of the Pakistan Super League to play in the team's home stadium. Given recent developments, it's hard to imagine that happening anytime soon. But now, he has a small taste of what life will be like outside of Karachi if he decides to make a move.

Rauf has simplified the issue to its most straightforward equation. There is a batter and a bowler; if the bowler can match the batter's speed, the batter's stumps will be knocked over.

Rauf's look could mean that he is at ease with the seemingly complex task he has been given or that he has no idea what he is doing. Rauf's emotional ambivalence is evident most clearly when he is put in a difficult situation. Early in his career, he was thought to have "bottled it" when things didn't go his way, and he was accused of lacking situational awareness. He'd been given a hospital pass and ordered to pull off a legendary theft.

When Dawson hits what appears to be a slower, shorter ball over midwicket for four, reducing the required rate to five of ten, that door appears to be firmly shut. Commentator Mark Butcher says of Dawson, "always the bridesmaid, never the bride," maybe convinced that he, too, had finally made it to centre stage. Pakistan may be playing in their 200th Twenty20 International. However, it appears they comprehend this format less than any other side on days like today.

Having watched the ball hit the ground, Rauf charges in and repeats his previous delivery. However, this time he has done away with the crafty variations and deft sleights of hand that are essential to twenty-over bowling nowadays. He sprinted like he could have while playing gully cricket in Rawalpindi's alleys or during his tryout for the Lahore Qalandars' Pace Development Programme, propelling him into the limelight. Rauf's strengths and preferences lay in this style of cricket. He was Pakistani, and Pakistanis were known for their fast bowling.

Dawson is caught off guard by the fast pace and little width of the delivery, and he pulls weakly into the inside, where Mohammad Haris catch it in the middle of the park. It's a tiny window of opportunity for Pakistan, but Rauf has apparently escaped the constraints of the situation and is now acting as if from some other dimension. As he waits menacingly at the bottom of his run-up as rookie Olly Stone stands guard, he appears unconcerned with the context in which he finds himself. Stone isn't exceptionally skilled in this area, but Rauf is.

Rauf has simplified the issue to its most straightforward equation. In cricket, there is a batsman and a bowler; if the ball is thrown at a high enough speed, the bowler will outpace the batter and knock over the batter's batting stumps. In the imagination of a bowler, this is the first dismissal they can imagine and the one that gives them the most primal thrill. Rauf's current state of mind has awakened the animal nature of every Karachiite.

It moves quickly, quite quickly. Stone hardly has time to finish his backlift before the ball whizzes past the outside edge and crashes into off stump. Haris walks confidently to his captain at short cover, knowing that the ball will rebound away to deep third. The following delivery is on his mind, along with the unfortunate Reece Topley.

The Dawson boundary seems like ages ago, and England is still five runs away. This is moot in the heady present as Rauf seeks a hat trick, the only acceptable conclusion to the match in his and Karachi's eyes. Topley's ankles take a direct hit as the ball is thrown down at 156 kilometres per hour. Even though it's falling, he has no control over Rauf's review.

The Hawk-Eye reveals that it went missing and was pitched outside leg, leaving Adil Rashid with only one ball to utilise as protection from the blow. England is four runs down, but a bat to a ball blasted down at 155 kph looks impossible.

They are doomed to fail in their goal. They opted to go for a single with two balls remaining, but Pakistan ended up eliminating them from the game. The arrival of Rauf has thrown them off balance.

As a clump forms in the circle's centre, Hasnain charges in from the perimeter. This time, the person's head is up, and their gleaming, contagious grin is fully displayed. Rauf could perform no Houdini trick without his initial burst of speed. In any case, he has no problem with Rauf stealing the show. To which Haris Rauf responds by basking in the glory.