Qudrat ka nizam is real.

It really was meant to be. After two last-ball defeats, Pakistan were gasping to stay alive. A Karachi flight felt closer than a spot in the knockouts. For many, it was bound to be South Africa’s World Cup, undefeated after three games and looking as good as ever. For others, it was India’s – with Virat Kohli in prime form and the fast bowlers in fine nick, why wouldn’t it be?

Pakistan, meanwhile, were floundering. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan were reduced to feeble reflections of the behemoths that had taken down one attack after another in their career. A recovering Shaheen Shah Afridi seemed to be bowling on one leg. The middle order looked confusing and grim.

And that was when qudrat ka nizam kicked in.

Three weeks on, Pakistan stand at the cusp of glory. They may lose in the final, but that will not undo what has still been a spectacular recovery from nearly a point of no return. Buoyed by fighting performances, the team has clawed their way back – and you cannot simply attribute this to cricketing brilliance. There is something extra this time, something higher that really conspired to see Pakistan through.

What is qudrat ka nizam?

It’s a viral phrase that has, rather amusingly, ended up becoming the unofficial motto of Pakistan’s campaign.

The phrase probably originated in September, when fans had been left scoffing when head coach Saqlain Mushtaq used it during a press conference after Pakistan had lost the third game of their home T20I series against England: “Day and night, summer and winter, rain and clouds…they keep going on,” said Saqlain.“This is qudrat ka nizam (translates to ‘nature taking its course’, or the ‘law of nature’)”.

“Sports (cricket) is also like this,” Saqlain said. “Win or loss will keep going on. So we should accept it.”

A months away from the World Cup, it sounded like a defeatist excuse on the back of a 63-run defeat, a misplaced take at such a time when every win and every ounce of morale mattered. It also provided easy fodder to critics, who would use it in tweets with abandon – and why not? It did not make sense: cricket is driven by performances and numbers, not by “divine intervention”.

But is that always true?

No amount of preparation or data could have predicted the sequence and manner of these events. South Africa nearly overran Zimbabwe before sharing points due to rain, and India lost to South Africa to open up the table further. Meanwhile, Pakistan returned on track to defeat Netherlands and South Africa.

The biggest of them all was Netherlands, dramatically defeating South Africa to open the path for Pakistan – and, lest we forget, the Dutch had themselves qualified only because Namibia had unexpectedly lost to the UAE (winless until that point) in the last match of the First Round!

It was about how good Pakistan were, but it was also about something more than that – it was about riding the wave, biding one’s time, and believing that the things will change. Add all the coincidences and similarities with the 1992 World Cup, and you have a proper backstory.

It did not take long for the phrase to return, this time in with positive spin. Converted into a hashtag, the phrase multiplied at a rate rapid enough to assume virality as Pakistan turned improbability into hope. It quickly became as integral a part of their campaign as the beats of dil dil Pakistan. Saqlain was vindicated.

When Fakhar Zaman tweeted about it after Netherlands defeated South Africa, and the likes of Azhar Mahmood and Azeem Rafiq followed suit, you knew it had attained ‘mainstream’ status.

It’s reached the team as well: in an ICC interview, a smiling Shadab Khan confirmed that qudrat ka nizam is real. Shadab has done little wrong at this T20 World Cup, so you cannot rule out the possibility of him being right about this one too. All it needs now is the Pakistan Prime Minister to follow Emmerson Mnangagwa’s tweet on Mr Bean. Going by his recent tweets, he seems to be a cricket fan alright.

So, run through yottabytes of analytical data, prepare your matchups and be in your best form. But if it is Pakistan’s day, no amount of planning will help. And it matters even less if qudrat is going to play a part.

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