Pakistan at World Cups – the controversial fighters
Blessed with a champion bowling attack, Pakistan was the best-suited nation for the limited-overs cricket in early years. The completed a hat-trick of semifinals in 1987 World Cup and capped it up with a dramatic victory in the 1992 edition. The tag of being ‘unpredictable’ has been proven correct by this side years and again. Here’s a recap of their controversial journey.
Team Record:
Played – 71, Won – 40, Lost – 29, No result – 2
Notable performances:
Champions – 1992
Runner up – 1999
Semi-finals – 1979, 1983, 1987, 2011
Most runs: Javed Miandad (1083 runs in 33 matches)
Most wickets: Wasim Akram (55 wickets in 38 matches)
History:
Prior to the inaugural World Cup, Pakistan had played only three ODIs but had managed to defeat England twice. In their opening match of the World Cup, Australia’s Dennis Lillee ran through the batting lineup to hand a 73-run loss. In the second match, Pakistan’s first innings total of 266/7 seemed enough with West Indies tottering at 203/9. However, Deryck Murray and Andy Roberts added 64 runs for the last wicket and ended Pakistan’s hopes of qualifying in the next round.
Hat-trick of semifinals
Pakistan consistently made it to the semifinals of the next three World Cups but failed to go beyond. In the 1979 edition, they were knocked out by West Indies. Chasing 294, Pakistan fell off from a position of strength at 176/1 and finished at 250 all out. Four years later, the same opposition handed an eight-wicket defeat to Pakistan in the semi-final.
With the World Cup being played in the subcontinent, Pakistan sensed their first opportunity of claiming the throne. They topped the group stage with five wins from their six matches. In the knockout at Lahore, they faced the challenge of Allan Border’s Australia. Batting first, the Australian posted 267/8. After losing three early wickets, Pakistan’s bests – Javed Miandad and Imran Khan added 112 for the fourth wicket. Loss of Imran at a crucial juncture saw Pakistan losing by just 18 runs.
A fairytale
Pakistan winning the 1992 World Cup is a story for the ages. 39-year old Imran Khan took the reigns in the hand of a talented side and guided them to nation’s most glorious cricket moment till date. Pakistan’s first few matches in the league stage showed no signs of them being a dominant force. They lost by 10 wickets to West Indies, they lost to India and the rain saved them from a certain defeat against England. The team bounced back with three consecutive wins and entered the semifinals as the fourth-placed side.
In the semi-final, hosts and tournament-favorites New Zealand posted a solid total of 262/7. In the chase, Pakistan was falling behind the required run-rate. Captain Imran promoted Inzamam-ul-Haq and the youngster’s 37-ball 60 brought Pakistan back into the game. Miandad and Moin Khan secured their access in their maiden World Cup final. In the final at Melbourne Cricket Ground, Wasim Akram was in his elements. His twin strikes proved crucial and Pakistan won the World Cup by 22 runs.
Shots at glory
The defending champions had their tails up in another home World Cup. Pakistan cleared the group stage of 1996 World Cup with only one loss which came against South Africa. This set up a high-voltage clash with India at Bangalore in the Quarterfinal. India posted 287/8 while batting first. Pakistani openers began with a bang and coasted to 84/0 in no time. Srinath sent back Saeed Anwar and Venkatesh Prasad’s iconic dismissal of Aamer Sohail derailed the chase. Despite Miandad’s gutsy 38, Pakistan fell short by 39 runs.
With Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar, Azhar Mahmood and Saqlain Mushtaq in the bowling lineup, Pakistan found ideal conditions in England. They topped the 1999 World Cup group stage with their only loss being an upset versus Bangladesh. After clearing Super Sixes, Pakistan thumped New Zealand in the semifinal with a nine-wicket win. In the final at the Lord’s, Pakistan fell apart like a pack of cards and was all out for 132. Australia won the final by 8 wickets.
Worse and worst
2003 World Cup was a huge disappointment for the Pakistani side as they were eliminated in the group stage. 2007 was their biggest disaster – it was tragic in multiple aspects. The team lost their opening encounter against West Indies. Ireland defeated them in the next game which ended Pakistan’s hopes of qualifying. They won the match versus Zimbabwe which was the last ODI of Inzamam-ul-Haq. Imran Nazir scored 160 in this game which remains Pakistan’s highest individual score in the World Cup. Bob Woolmer’s death added to Pakistan’s woes.
Bouncing back
Stripped from hosting the World Cup matches, Pakistan played all their group games of 2011 World Cup in Sri Lanka. They topped the table with five wins from six games. The green team handed a 10-wicket loss to West Indies in the quarterfinal which set up their semifinal clash against India at Mohali. The match received unprecedented coverage with the arch-rivals clashing against each other. Pakistan failed to get past India once again and the 29-run loss sent them out of the competition.
In 2015, Pakistan suffered another loss to India in its opening encounter. They scraped through the group stages and were knocked by Australia in the quarterfinal. This year, Sarfraz Ahmed has a fresh group of players at his exposal. Although the expectations from the Pakistani side are low, they have always been unpredictable.
