The pre-World Cup controversies seem to have made Pakistan stronger, more determined and now perhaps the most dangerous team in the tournament. With three weaker sides in the Group A — Kenya, Canada and Zimbabwe — Pakistan's quarterfinal slot wasn't really under threat.
But few expected Shahid Afridi's squad to finish atop its group by beating co-host Sri Lanka and ending four-time champion Australia's unbeaten World Cup streak of 34 matches. Pakistan's depth has been impressive, with the 1992 World Cup champions hardly seeming to miss the suspended Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir.
The trio was barred from international cricket just two weeks before the World Cup started last month after being found guilty of spot-fixing during a test match against England last August.
"With all those controversies ... the way we have come out of it I am happy," coach Waqar Younis said after Pakistan's batsmen held their nerve to beat Australia by four wickets in a low-scoring match here Saturday night.
"The eyes of whole nation were fixed on us and it's a small gift for them, I hope bigger gifts will come in the future."
Pundits had been critical of the makeup of Pakistan's XI, with Afridi stretching his batting lineup to No. 8 where Abdul Razzaq is slotted.
But so far, with the exception of a 110-run loss to New Zealand, Afridi's tactical decision has been proven sound.
The presence of three allrounders — Afridi, Mohammad Hafeez and Razzaq — gives Pakistan the luxury of including only three specialist bowlers, much to the dislike of legendary Imran Khan.
Afridi leads all bowlers in the tournament with 17 wickets, while fast bowler Umar Gul has found his rhythm and swing since conceding 60-1 against Sri Lanka.
Gul has bowled intelligently with both old and new ball on slow pitches of Sri Lanka and claimed 13 wickets.
In the loss to New Zealand, Pakistan's only defeat in the group matches, Gul's figures of 3-32 stood out.
"He's not only bowling straight but with some pace," Younis said. "He's attacking as well in areas where its hard to hit."
Afridi's surprise new ball bowler — left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman — troubled the Australian batsmen and claimed the wicket of experienced batsman Mike Hussey on a two-paced surface of R. Premadasa Stadium.
With left-arm fast bowler Wahab Riaz, Afridi covers all his bowling bases so well that it hasn't been necessary to use paceman Shoaib Akhtar in the last three games. Akhtar has already announced his retirement from international cricket after the World Cup, but Younis insists he does not want to disturb the team combination.
"Wrong question at the moment," Younis said when asked if Akhtar has already played his last international match. "We just want to enjoy our victory (against Australia) and make sure we see how it goes in next round. We have to see things and then decide."
Pakistan's one weakness has been the failure of its opening batsmen, part of the reason the batting lineup has been reinforced down to Razzaq.
Neither opener — Hafeez or Ahmed Shehzad — has scored a half century in the tournament. Misbah-ul-Haq has also lost a bit of form in the middle-order.
But young batsmen Asad Shafiq and Umar Akmal have enjoyed the big occasion. Shafiq has impressed in the last two matches with an unbeaten 78 against Zimbabwe and a gritty 44 on Saturday.
"He's very steady, not a big hitter," Younis said. "He quietly manoeuvrs the ball here and there, picks up the odd boundary (and) at No. 3 he's done a superb job."
Akmal returned from an injured finger to make an unbeaten 46 against Australia after missing the game against Zimbabwe.
Pakistan dropped Shehzad against Australia after he failed five times in the tournament, but the new pair of Hafee-Kamran Akmal also could give the start of only 12 runs.
"We definitely have a problem with the openers," Younis said. "But I hope the story will be different in the quarterfinals."Pakistan won't know its quarterfinal opponent until after India plays against the West Indies in Group B match on Sunday.
Most likely Pakistan will be travelling to Bangladesh for the quarterfinals, where it played two warmup matches last month. Younis believed the pitches would be much easier in Bangladesh than in Sri Lanka, and Saturday's win against Australia will boost the confidence of his team.
"Here I think they (pitches) have been more difficult," Younis said. "The victory has given us a big boost by playing in these tough conditions and things will get easier when we go to the other part and play on those pitches."