The terminology — from tailenders to yorkers — is befuddling.
And yet the wild popularity cricket enjoys across South Asia is well known to even the most casual observer of the region.
I closely followed the Pakistan-India cricket final and took to Twitter — while shamelessly coining a new hashtag, #KugelmanKiCricket — to offer real-time commentary that likely provided more entertainment than analytical value.
Pakistan is often down but never out.
Still, what struck me the most was this: the team that triumphed on Sunday is an admirable microcosm of Pakistan on the whole: young and unpredictable, but also odds-defying and resilient.
This team, like the nation it represents, is often counted out, but still manages to persevere.
Nearly 100 months later, the state has yet to fall.
To be sure, Pakistan faces challenges in the coming months and years far graver than anything that will be thrown at (or should I say bowled to?)
its national cricket squad.
And yet if there is one teachable moment from Sunday’s victory, it is that Pakistan is often down but never out.