Played in a bi-quaternary format with 2 groups comprising 4 teams each , this was the first competitive tournament of world status in cricketing arena since the 1912 Trianagular Tournament. Pakistan’s WC 1975 aka Prudential Cup campaigners were a mercurial yet formidable bunch that were, initially, expected to give a tough time to the opposition in the new format.
Despite boasting of a lineup that had names like the Asian Don Bradman Zaheer Abbas, maestro Sadiq Muhammad , elegant Majid Khan , the street smart Javed Miandad along with wonder Imran Khan , Pakistani team made little headway in the tournament and crashed out in the initial stages of tournament.
In reply the Pakistani response was meek. The bowling duo of Lille and Thomson provided much in the way of searing pace and immaculate line length which reduced the Pakistani squad to mere 205. Majid Khan and the skipper Asif Iqbal put resistant half centuries but the score fell well short of the chasing mark.
Score card for Pak Vs Australia
Next up, Pakistan faced West Indies as their next fixture. Unlike the first match, this one turned out to be a thriller which kept the audience captivated and glued to the chair from the first ball.
The West Indian squad was tipped to win the World Cup from start with its arsenal of players like Alvin Kalicharan, Clive Lloyd, Andy Roberts, Roy Fredricks and the debuting Gordon Greenidge.
The Pakistani pace battery responded in kind by dismantling the awe-inspiring West Indian lineup with Sarfaz Nawaz inflicting loss of 4 wickets. At one point the score line read 99-5. Due to Llyod rejuvenating innings the total went to 151-6 before he, too, was dismissed. Eventually, West Indies were 203-9 with 64 runs required for a victory. The Pakistani sniffed blood and moved in for the kill.
Yet in a twist of fate the 11th wicket miraculously put on 64 runs slowly and steadily courtesy Murray and Roberts to defy the visiting team from the subcontinent, an easy victory.
Score card for Pak Vs West Indies
Hence Pakistan’s WC 1975 campaign came to an abrupt halt in the group stages.
It was of little consolation when Pakistan recorded a crushing 192 runs victory on the Sri Lankans in the dead rubber.
Score card for Pak Vs Sri Lanka
The world cup of 1979, The Prudential Cup, came in the droplight of Kerry Packer World Series whereby many players from all nationalities went to play in the Australian based cricketing venture. The years of 1977-79 saw the absence of star players of Pakistani lineup such Mushtaq Mohammed, Zaheer Abbas, Majid Khan, Imran khan, Sarfaraz Nawaz, Haroon Rashid and Javed Miandad.
Many of these players returned just in time to join the Pakistani squad for the 1979 edition of World Cup.
The venue was England and the duration of tournament stretched to two weeks. Eight teams took part in the tournament, six of them test playing nations and 2 associate members, decided after a tournament between all the associate nations of ICC. With 120 overs to be bowled in a match, this edition was much like the previous edition of ’75.
Pakistan was drawn in the group of England, Australia and Canada.
The first match of Pakistani campaign saw action against the associate Canada, who batting first, put a paltry total of 139 as Sarfaraz Nawaz and Asif Iqbal took 3 wickets apiece. In reply, the Pakistani batting lineup took the opposition to the bleachers, cruising to 140 for the loss of only 2 wickets with almost 20 overs to spare. Sadiq Muhammad top scored with 56 not out.
Next up, Pakistan meets Australian in group matches. Prelude to 1979, Australia had lost some of its top star players to the WSC hosted by Kerry Packer. As evident by the team’s performance, the absence of the players had hurt the team’s World Cup ambitions. The match started with Pakistan electing to bat first and putting up and strong show upfront as the opening partnership lasted 99 runs before Majid Khan got out. A late outburst by skipper Asif Iqbal ensured a hefty total of 286.
Australia in reply lost their wickets in succession and with a mini collapse were down at 46-3. Andrew Hildtich held his own, adding a valuable 72 but it proved too little, too late as Kangaroos collapsed to 197 without seriously risking the total set to them by Pakistan. With a victory margin of 89 runs, Sikandar Bakht and Majid Khan took 3 wickets apiece in this match.
Pakistan Vs Australia Scorecard
Hence, Pakistan secured a spot in the semi-finals the first time in a World Cup, with a match to spare. The next match between Pakistan and England went to the wire. Both England and Pakistan had been unbeaten so far in their previous group stage matches. The English batting order was rendered hapless as the team collapsed to a mere 165-9 in the allotted quota of 60 overs. Majid Khan and Sikandar Bakht made inroads into the top and middle order by taking 3 wickets each. Not much in the way of resistance was put by the English lineup with Graham Gooch top scoring at 33. Pakistan in reply to England also presented a similar face as Hendrick took four quick wickets with Ian Botham at the other end maintained a tight control. The scoreline read 34-6 and it looked as though the Pakistani Lions would not make it past half century.
Asif Iqbal, the skipper lead from the front and gave stiff resistance, scoring half century. The tail-enders scraped for runs and Pakistan came within 14 runs of the mark. In the end, Geoff Boycott took a couple and won the match for England by a narrow margin.
England qualified for semi finals as the top team from the group while Pakistan finished as second.
Pakistan was set to play the semi-finals against West-Indies, who held the title of World Champions coming to this edition. The outfit lead by Clive Lloyd, posted a fierce total of 293-6 in 60 overs. Openers Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes top scored with 73 and 65 respectively while the middle order played a second fiddle and scored quick runs.
Pakistan’s campaign though better than ’75, still needed improvement and tweaking if it hoped to become a serious contender for the coveted World Cup.
The 1983 edition of Worldcup was, again, after some heated debate played in England. Sponsored by Prudential Assurance, this edition, too, was named Prudential Cup. Seven test playing nations ( Srilanka had acquired Test status) and an Associate nation , Zimbabwe featured in this edition.
With two groups of 4 teams each, every team had to play the other 3 teams twice. The top 2 teams would qualify for the semis. This was the last edition to be played with 60 overs a side.
Pakistan, coming into the tournament had powered their way through by winning the recent tournament against India and under Imran Khan’s captaincy; the team’s outlook had improved .Pakistan’s campaign kicked off by playing Sri Lanka at Swansea.
Sri Lanka, winning the toss decided to field first. A good opening stand followed by brisk half centuries courtesy Zaheer Abbas, Javed Miandad and Imran Khan took the Pakistani total to 338.
The bowling department played its role with due diligence with Sarfaraz Nawaz leading the pack with 3 wickets. The top order could not make a dent in the chase and despite a late order contribution by wicket-keeper batsman de Alwis(59), Sri Lankans fell short by 50 runs. Mohsin Khan was awarded man of the match for his 82 with the bat.
Thus, Pakistan blazed through its first encounter.
Pakistan Vs SrliLanka Scorecard
Pakistan’s second encounter with New Zealand though, left much to be desired.
Winning the toss, Pakistan decided to put New Zealand to bat. Pakistan’s bowling lineup did its job well by restricting New Zealand. Batting first on the Edgbaston pitch, New Zealand mustered 238 without any batsmen reaching half century. Rashid Khan took 3 while Abdul Qadir took 4 wickets.
It was, however, Pakistan’s batting that proved to be its Achilles Heel. In reply to the meager total, Pakistani batting lineup collapsed upfront. The top 3 got out on ducks. With the score card reading 0/3, the middle order also got out after stuttering starts and the duo of Hadlee and Chairns ensured the demise at 186. The lackluster performance by the batting had lost the match.
Pakistan Vs NewZealand Scorecard
On the back of a bad performance, Pakistan met England at Lords. Electing to bat first, Pakistani batting lineup put on a similar show of failure as the preceding match, the team only managed to score 193 in its quota of 60 overs with the loss of 8 wickets. Zaheer Abbas managed 83 not out.
English reply to the chase was a steady accumulation of runs. It breezed to 193 with loss of only 2 wickets with nearly 10 overs to spare. Zaheer Abbas won the Man of the Match award for his performance.
Scorecard for Pakistan Vs England
Pakistan met Sri Lanka in the second leg of the competition. The result of the match went in favor of Pakistan although margin was narrow than the last encounter.
Winning the toss at the Headingly Stadium, Sri Lanka put Pakistan to bat first. An unbeaten century by skipper Imran Khan(102) and late order contribution by Shahdi Mahboob(77) meant that Pakistan had a defendable score of 235.
Requiring 3.9 runs per over, the Lankans got off to a very slow start. Losing wickets at regular intervals as Abdul Qadir showed his wares , picking a five wicket haul , Sri Lankans could not keep momentum through the innings and eventually fell short by 11 runs. Abdul Qadir won Man of the Match for his performance.
Pakistan Vs SriLanka
Pakistan met the hosts England again, this time in Manchester. On a pitch that did not offer much pace or bounce, English bowling managed to make light work of Pakistan’s lineup. Effective fielding and coordinated bowling meant the visitors were left gasping for runs. Pakistan made 232-8, never much for the English batting lineup. Miandad top scored with 67.
Openers Fowler and Tavare put on an opening standoff 115. After that, Mike Gatting and Allan Lamb crossed the line comfortably and England reached the target with the loss of 3 wickets.
Pakistan Vs England Scorecard
Pakistan was now in a spot of bother. In order to qualify for the semi finals, Pakistan had to meet two conditions.
a) Beat New Zealand in the next match
b) Make enough runs in their allocated overs to give them a lead in Net run rate throughout the tournament.
Winning the toss, Pakistan went to bat first at the Trent Bridge against New Zealand. The opening pair got to 48 when the partnership broke. It wasn’t till Zaheer Abbas and Imran Khan’s arrival that Pakistan steadied the ship. By putting on an unbeaten stand of 147 runs, in which Richard Hadlee was taken to the bleachers for 47 in 5 overs, Pakistan posted a total of 261 runs.
New Zealand in response never posed a threat to the chasing score as batsmen came and went after getting starts but failed to convert them into big scores. Jeremy Coney put up a half century and the tail enders hanged around to come within reach of target. Yet the last wicket, a run out by Imran Khan, shattered the stumps as much as the New Zealand chances of victory. Abdul Qadir and Sarfaraz Nawaz took two wickets each and Imran Khan received Man of the Match for his performance.
Pakistan Vs NewZealand Scorecard
Pakistan qualified for the semifinals for the second time in the World Cup history with this performance. Now, it faced the mighty Windies in the semis once again.
Electing to bat first in the Kennington Oval, opener Mohsin Khan showed promise with the bat but did not receive much support from the other end as wickets kept tumbling. Only Zaheer Abbas scored more than 20 while 5 players did not reach double figures. Marshal, Roberts and Garner made sure the score did not reach above 184.
In reply the men from Caribbean put 2-56 when Viv Richards took guard. He went on to smash 80 including eleven 4s and one 6 in a cameo appearance. Larry Gomes made a supporting half century from the other end. The chase was accomplished with more than 11 overs to spare.
Hence, the Pakistani campaign came to an end. The Windies eventually lost to India in finals in an unprecedented turn of events.
Pakistan had, for the second time, lost against West Indies in a semi final without much of a fight. This World Cup missed Imran Khan’s bowling as much as the consistency in batting which would become the hallmark of its performance in the years to come. SemiFinal, Pakistan Vs WestIndies Scorecard
Before the end of last World Cup, it had been decided that the next edition would be held out of England. The subcontinent outbid all the competitors and the ‘Reliance World Cup’ was set to be played in the backyard of Pakistan and India. Seven venues from Pakistan and fourteen venues from India were host to the tournament.
Pakistan, after the retirement of its experienced stalwarts was fielding young blood with the likes of Wasim Akram, Rameez Raja, Saleem Malik and Ijaz Ahmed.
The format of the tournament remained the same. Four teams each, in two groups with top two in each group qualifying for semis. The overs, however, were decreased from 60 to 50 as the days in the east were shorter than England, with a bowler bowling a maximum of 10 overs. This was also be the last time the format would be played in an all white kit and red ball.
Seven test nations and one associate nation (Zimbabwe) went head to head in the competition that lasted a month.
Pakistan was drawn in group B along with England, West Indies and Sri Lanka. The first match of the tournament was to be played between host Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Proceedings started in Hyderabad stadium as Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first. Opener Rameez Raja played a steady innings while a couple of wickets went down at the other end till Miandad arrived on the crease. A 4th wicket stand of 113 and a century at more than run-a-ball by Miandad(103), got Pakistan a total of 267.
Sri Lankans in reply, got off to a good start but batsman that got settled failed to capitalize the opportunity. Seamers Imran Khan and Wasim Akram limited the visited team’s chance of scoring. Roshan Mahnama made a valiant 89 but got out by Mansoor Akhtar in the sole over he bowled after which tail enders failed to reach the finishing line by 11 runs. Pakistan had started off its campaign by a win against Sri Lanka just like the last World Cup. Javed Miandad was declared the man of the match for his knock.
Pakistan v Sri Lanka Scorecard
Pakistan’s second match came against England at Rawalpindi. England won the toss and elected to field first.
Pakistan lost its first wicket at 13 but did not lose momentum as Saleem Malik posted a spirited 65 and Ijaz Ahmed made a run-a-ball 59. With contributions from lower order Pakistan made 239 runs in 5 overs with loss of 7 wickets. De Freitas took 3 while Gladstone Small took 2 wickets.
Pakistan’s third match was with West Indies and they were yet to win a match against them in a World Cup.
The venue was Gaddafi Stadium Lahore. West Indies won the toss and elected to bat. Openers Desmond Haynes and Phil Simmons put in an opening stand of 91 runs before Haynes got bowled. A quick half century by captain Viv Richards put some hope in the total. West Indies got bowled over in the penultimate over at 216.
Pakistan’s innings began slowly as pacer Courtney Walsh made life tough with pace and bounce. Losing wickets at regular intervals, Pakistan reached 110-5. However Salim Mailk and skipper Imran Khan put on 73 in 11 overs. They came close to the total when both got dismissed quickly. Abdul Qadir and Salim Yosuf were on the crease with 14 runs required in the final over.
Abdul Qadir launched a six in this over, surprising everybody and it came down the wire. 2 runs required off the last ball. It was then the sportsman spirit of Windies and Courtney Walsh came to the fore. The batsman at the non strikers’ end, Jaffar had run too far from the crease towards the strikers end while the bowler had not reached the line to bowl the delivery. Instead of choosing to dislodging the bails and run him out, he went again to his mark to bowl his delivery.
The rest is history, the next ball conceded the required 2 runs and Pakistan was victorious.
West Indies may have lost the match but won the hearts of spectators at the Rawalpindi stadium and Pakistani supporters at large.
Pakistan v West Indies
Pakistan had won its first victory against West Indies in a world cup fixture. First time for everything, right?
Pakistan’s next match came against England at the National Stadium Karachi. Having won the toss, England decided to bat first.
After a shaky start by openers, England was down to 52-2. It was then, the skipper Mike Gatting(60) and Bill Athey(86) put on a brisk partnership of 135 that lifted the side to 187-2. Both batsment got out on the same score of 187. Seamer Imran Khan took 4 wickets to restrict the visitors while Abdul Qadir picked 3 valuable wickets including Gatting to bundle out England for 230-9 in 50 overs.
Pakistan’s response to the chase was befitting the cheering of home crowd as opening stand lasted for 61 runs before Mansoor Akhtar got out.
Saleem Malik arrived at the crease and made a rapid fire 88 off 92 balls to put on a 2nd wicket partnership of 167. Javed Miandad and Ijaz Ahmed saw Pakistan to the end. Gladstone Small was the victim of the late onslaught, going for 63 runs in 9 overs. Saleem Malik was awarded Man of the Match for his batting performance.
Pakistan had won the match comfortably by 7 wickets.
Next up, Pakistan faced Sri Lanka at Faislabad. Pakistan’s record against the Lankans was a clean sheet up till now. It would remain that way.
The toss went in Pakistan’s favor and it elected to bat first.
A half century stand by openers followed by an in form Saleem Malik who scored a brisk century, took the score to 297. It is worthy to note that 5 batsmen in this innings made scores of 30-39 as none of the Sri Lankan bowlers proved penetrative. Chasing a score at an average of nearly six an over was always going to be an uphill task. The task was further made easier for the bowlers by early run outs and fall of wickets. Both openers were in the pavilion at 11-2. The middle order was haunted by Abdul Qadir’s legspin and wickets came without much hassle. Even Javed Miandad chipped in with a wicket.
Sri Lanka was 184-8 when 50 overs ended. Salim Malik was awarded Man of the match, second time on a trot.
Pakistan was having a dream run in the cup so far, having won out of 5 of 5 matches so far.
Facing the two times World Cup champions in the next fixture, Pakistan met West Indies at National Stadium Karachi. West Indies won the toss and elected to field first.
West Indies began batting with fiery intent and though Wasim Akram got Simmons out early , Richardson took the bowling by storm. An anchoring 110 from the one down batsman and a rapid fire 67 by the skipper Viv Richards made an imposing total of 258. Pacers Imran and Wasim took 3 a piece.
In reply, the top order made solid starts but did not keep pace with the asking rate. Slow run rate meant more pressure on the lower order. It succumbed under the pressure and collapsed even though at one point it was going good at 147-3. Nine wickets down Pakistan reached 230 with its quota of 50 overs. Pakistan lost by 28 runs.
Pakistan had qualified for the Semi Finals and met Australia in the knockout stage.
Pakistan in reply, stuttered at the start, with both openers not reaching double figures. Saleem Malik and Javed Miandad put Pakistan back on track with scores of 25 and 70 each. When Salim Malik fell, Imran Khan took over and scored a half century to brighten Pakistan’s prospect. However bowler Craig Mcdermott bowled a brilliant spell at the end, taking a five wicket haul and bagging the title for the Australian side. Australia won by 18 runs and that was the end of the Pakistani campaign. It had been denied victory on its home ground.
Many feel Pakistan’s 1987 team over achieved by its standard even though it was never the best ranked outfit in the tournament but it carried the home advantage. When Australia lifted the World Cup in the final, one could not help but wonder if things could have gone differently.
Pakistan v Sri Lanka at Faisalabad
After World Cup 1987, Imran Khan announced his retirement. However, on the extreme pressure of fans and a personal request from the President of Pakistan, he took back the decision and led Pakistan in the next World Cup.
Pakistan had discovered exciting talents between the last World Cup and this one. The new squad had youthful players in the mix such as Inzamam ul Haq, Moin Khan, Mushtaq Ahmed, Aamer Sohail while kept the balance with seasoned players with likes of Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Rameez Raja and Salim Malik. It is pertinent to mention here that Waqar Younus had suffered an injury in the warm-ups and this had put a premature end to his world cup debut.
The World Cup of ’92 was unique in its nature in many aspects. It was the first edition to feature colored clothing to go along with white kookaburra balls. Day and night matches under floodlights made their debut in the World Cups at this occasion. Reintroduction of South Africa into the format after the lifting of the ban meant the visitors from Africa had a chance to impress as the international stage once more.
Named as ‘Benson and Hedges World Cup’, after its sponsors, this was the first edition to be introduced to the Southern Hemisphere, with New Zealand hosting it with 7 and Australia with 11 venues. Playing its first match at the MCG, clad in the green outfit, Pakistan went about its task of making it count this time.
The toss went in favor of the Windies, with skipper Richardson deciding to field first.
Put to bat first, Pakistan made a good but slow start to its innings. Rameez Raja scored a 158 ball 102. Javed Miandad made a brisk 57 but the absence of acceleration at the start brought Pakistan to 220 for the loss of 2 wickets.
West Indies in reply, sent seasoned Desmond Haynes and Brian Lara who set about their task with mechanical efficiency. Lara struck while Haynes consolidated. This partnership lasted a massive 175 runs till seamer Wasim Akram delivered a toe crushing Yorker that injured Lara. With 45 runs needed, skipper Richardson took his team across the line with ease.
Pakistan tottered for 74, hardly a challenge for the English batsmen. However, it was not to be for the fans of England. Heavy rain came pouring down the field, halting play when England was going 30-1 without a hiccup.
Rain had intervened, for what would have been an easy victory for the men in blue. Pakistan faced off rivals India in the next fixture. This was the first time they would meet at the prestigious tournament.
After great anticipation, the match day arrived. India won the toss and elected to bat first. Aqib Javed got a struggling Sri Kanth out on 5 off 39 balls. Captain Azharuddin contributed with 32 and Kambli put on a steady partnership until the young Sachin Tendulkar arrived.
The little master put on a rapid 54 along with stalwart Kapil Dev(34) to get to 216-7 , a defendable but achievable score.
Pakistan experimented by bringing Inzimam to open but it backfired as Pakistan went 2-17 early on. The arrival of old warhorse, Miandad calmed the nerves and he, along with Sohail played with relative ease, accumulating 98 runs in the partnership. Sohail got caught in the outfield by Srikanth off the bowling of Tendulkar which sparked a collapse worthy of the hallmark batting failures of previous editions. 8 wickets fell for addition of only 62 runs on the board.
173 all out was the state of scoreboard at the death of the innings. Tendulkar was awarded Man of the Match for his rapid half century and a wicket.
Pakistan had failed to impress, yet again.
The proteas were next and the South African outfit, lead by grim faced Keppler Wessels was determined after losing 2 matches. Even more desperate was Pakistan who had only 3 points to show for their 4 outings.
Playing at the Gabba , Pakistan won the toss and chose to field first. Skipper Keppler Wessels was dismissed at 31 but the opener Hudson and Rushmere chipped in till the opener, too, got out on 98-2.
A flurry of wickets followed, but the ship was again stabled by hard hitting Hansie Cronje and Brian McMillan. South Africa saved face by making 211.
Pakistan in reply got off to a steady but slow start as the openers put on a 50 runs partnership. Inzimam came on to bat and showed the flair for which he was selected, scoring 48 off 44 balls.
Pakistan lost another match and needed extraordinary circumstances culminating wins for rest of matches to result of fixtures of other teams (one team beating another team by a certain margin) .
The ‘cornered tiger’ speech by Imran Khan got through to the Pakistani boys and there was no looking back after this point.
Now Pakistan went against the Australian side, playing in their backyard at WACA, Perth. Defeating the host team was a tough ask for any team.
Winning the toss and electing to bat first, Pakistani openers put on 78 for the first wicket. Sohail made a half century. Miandad came to crease and made steady contributions to the score. Inspite of lower order collapse, Pakistan managed 228-9.
Australian openers took guard and bowlers got to their task by dismissing a struggling Tom Moody as pacers utilized the bounced offered by the pitch. A start and stop display of batting by Australians ensued as the leggie Mushtaq Ahmed took 3 vital wickets of set batsmen. Dean Jones, Waugh and skipper Allan border were victims of the spell.
The tail end was swiped clean by Akram and Pakistan cleaned up the might Aussies by hitting the stumps of the last batsman. A win guaranteed that Pakistan’s chances, though slim, remained alive. Aamer Sohail won Man of the Match for his performance in the top order.
Pakistan faced off Sri Lanka in the next match. Same venue against a different side, Pakistan was put to bowl first by their Asian opponents.
Here, the spinners came to the fore with their tidy bowling and miserly spells. Taking 4 out of 6 wickets, the spinners put the run rate on hold. Sri Lankans got to 212-6 at the end of 50th over.
Pakistani reply to the total was dismissal of an opener early on at 11-1. Opener Rameez Raja kept his cool and Imran Khan promoted himself to one down to contribute 22. Miandad chipped in with a half century and Salim Malik complemented him at the other end by scoring another , putting on a 101 run partnership to steer Pakistan to an easy victory. Both got dismissed at the end but their return to the pavilion was of no consequence, Pakistan won by 4 wickets with an over to spare. Javed Miandad won the Man of Man.
Pakistan’s late revival in series had now inculcated in them a confident by which they overthrew some of the best sides in the world cup. This would include breaking the 100% win record of New Zealand in the ongoing World Cup.
A good toss to win, it seemed when Pakistan decided to throw the ball to the seamers. A fighting knock by open Greatbatch(62) as wickets tumbled around him from the start , did not help New Zealand’s cause. 4 wickets by Wasim Akram and a tight spell of Mushtaq giving only 18 runs in 10 overs and taking two wickets choked the kiwis. The fact that extras handed out by the fielding side equaled the highest scorer showed the extent of grip of bowlers as New Zealand stuttered to 166 all out.
He got early success, picking up Amir Sohail. Rameez Raja and Imran Khan began batting steadily, both reaching 44 respectively before losing the wickets. Javed Miandad was playing a steady knock when his partner Saleem Malik got out. This left seasoned Miandad and the new arrival on the crease, Inzamam , to make 123 off 15 overs. Inzamam proved his mettle , belting 60 in 37 balls in a T20 styled performance , a decade before the new format was introduced. Javed Miandad chaperoned him from the other end and 87 runs in the next 10 overs made the kiwi attack look tame.
Pakistan had schooled the formerly unbeaten team twice in two outings and had caused them to crash out in front of their home crowd at Eden Park at Auckland.
New Zealand had eliminated the co-hosts in group stages, which meant that home advantage was nullified when Pakistan met the English team in the finals.
Pakistan had, for the first time qualified for the finals in 5 worldcups , having failed to do so after losing semi finals in ‘79 and ’87. This time it met England who had decimated the batting order earlier this tournament.
In front of the MCG crowd, Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first. Derek Pringle, who had harassed the batsmen in the first match came back for seconds, dismissing openers Rameez Raja and Aamer Sohail in a short span. The need of the hour was a laid back approach to gather runs, which was soon fulfilled by the skipper, Imran Khan who promoted himself up the order to calm the nerves of the Pakistani dressing room. He, along with Javed Miandad, accumulated runs and blocked the good deliveries that came their way.
A 139 runs partnership put the team back on track. Miandad was caught out bowled with the score reading 163-3. A change in tactics took place and the batsmen shifted gears, as Inzamam arrived. A cameo from Inzamam, 42 off 35 and a rapid 33 of 18 deliveries by Wasim Akram gave Pakistan 249, a good total to defend. Wasim Akram had saved his best for the last not only in batting but in the bowling to come.
English openers took guard in front of the packed crowd as the Pakistani seamers started showing their well directed aggression against the skipper Graham Gooch and the all-rounder Ian Botham.
Botham, promoted up the order, failed to click as he got out for nought, caught behind off Wasim Akram, in a controversial fashion. Wicket-keeper batsman Alex Stewart was next to go in a similar fashion, this time Aqib Javed claiming the wicket. Neil Fairbrother and Allan Lamb both continued the fight, making quick runs, till the team score card had reached 141. Imran Khan threw the ball to his spearhead, Wasim Akram, to achieve a breakthrough.
And a breakthrough he achieved. Wasim Akram, bowling at high speed round the wicket, pitched one that darted in and shaped slightly away from Lamb who was bamboozeled as his stumps crashed into the ground. Not content with breaking the partnership, Wasim Akram bowled another searing delivery at the new comer , Chris Lewis , who chopped it on his own stumps , making it 2 for 2 for the left arm pacer. England had lost the momentum and perhaps the world cup after the spell.
The formality ended with the skipper Imran Khan taking the last wicket and Rameez Raja, fittingly the man who had started the proceedings with the bat ended it with the ball by catching Illingworth off the bowling of his skipper.
The fans back home erupted with joy as the images came of the Pakistani victory. Imran Khan, who had been playing the tournament with a bad shoulder, had propelled his side to a World Cup win in most unpredictable circumstances. The task for which he had been brought for was completed and he bowed out of international cricket once and for all.
Always the bridesmaid never the bride, England had lost its third final, second on the trot.
The ’92 World Cup was the only time Pakistan lifted the silverware in the 50 overs edition. The new comers in this team would go on to make a fine career for themselves.
Pakistan, the champions of the previous World Cup had bettered their tactics in 50 overs format by the time ’96 World Cup rolled in. Players from the’92 cup had grown from exciting talents to seasoned players and the ODI team was a complete package. A solid opening combination, upper order accumulators, lower order hitters, safe pair of hands behind the stumps, both right and left armed pacers of note and a better spin department than most test nations.
Captained by sultan of swing, Wasim Akram, Pakistan announced its squad for the ‘Willis Cup 1996. The fast bowling department had Aaqib Javed, Waqar Younus, Atta ur Rehman along with the skipper himself. The batsmen cadre had Aamer Sohail, Ijaz Ahmed, Inzimam Ul Haq, Saeed Anwar, Saleem Malik, Rameez Raja and playing his 6th World Cup on the trot, Javed Miandad. The keepers gloves’ were donned by Rashid Latif while spinners included the inventor of ‘doosra’ Saqlain Mushtaq and leg break bowler, Mushtaq Ahmed.
This edition was the second time World Cup was to be hosted in subcontinent. Co-hosted by India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the venues per country stood at 16, 6 and 3 respectively.
Teams that took part in this edition included all Test teams, 9 overall (Zimbabwe had gained Test status recently). Three associate teams, the UAE, Netherlands and Kenya also took part. The associate Kenya would later pull a surprise win later in the format.
The ’96 World Cup revolutionized the way teams looked at the first 15 overs of fielding restrictions. This was, in part, credit to Sri Lanka outfit which would send Master Blaster Sanath Jasuriya and keeper Kaluwitharna up the order to smash the oppositions earlier on.
Pakistan’s first match came against the UAE.
Pakistani bowlers made a mess of the Associate team’s lineup after winning the toss first and electing to field at Gujranawala Stadium. A couple of 20s here and there was all they could manage. Mushtaq Ahmed took 3 while Wasim Akram and Aaqib took 2. Score was 109-9 in 33 overs.
Pakistan v United Arab Emirates at Gujranwala
In reply , opener Aamer Sohail got out hitting the bowlers early on but his opening counterpart, Anwar and Ijaz made 40 and 50 at brisk pace , handing out a defeat of 9 wickets and 90 balls to spare. Mushtaq Ahmed was Man of the Match for his 3 wicket haul.
Next up, Pakistan faced minnows Netherlands at Qaddafi Stadium, Lahore. The Dutch won the toss and decided to bat first. The toss was the last thing they would excel at, as the Pakistani pace battery swung into action. Waqar took 2 quick wickets and Aqib took one as Dutch slumped to 29-3. A slow fight back led by van Noortwijk and Aponso lifted them to 102-2 before they too were taken by the pacers. 145-7 as 50 overs ended. Waqar ended up taking 4 while Aqib took 2 wickets.
In response, Aamer Sohail missed out on a big innings, dismissed earlier on, but Anwar, like last time, capitalized by smashing 83 including nine 4s and three 6s. Inzimam was on the crease at 18 when score was reached. Waqar Younus was judged Man of Man.
Pakistan v Netherlands at Lahore
Pakistan’s first challenge against a formidable side came up against South Africa at National stadium, Karachi. Against the side led by Hansie Cronje, Pakistan won the toss and chose to bat.
Aamir Sohail , who had missed out in previous outings made a century. Opening partnership lasted 52 rins. Inzimam(23) and Saleem(40) played anchoring role while a cameo by Wasim(32) got Pakistan a decent total of 242.
The Proteas in reply started off aggressively as opener Hudson and Kirsten added 51 runs in the partnership. After a couple of wickets at 2-53 , Cullinan arrived and scored a brisk 65 until , he too , fell victm to Waqar's pace. Although three wickets came into his account, he was expensive. Skipper Cronje(45) and Pollock(20) saw them to the end without any hiccup. Score was 243-5 with 34 balls to spare.
Pakistan faced England next. The English side had a terrible tournament as they lost to all test playing nations in group stage. But all talk about past performance was put to rest when England started their batting after winning the toss at National Stadium Karachi. Openers Smith and skipper Atherton put on a big stand of 147 at a good pace. For a while it looked though a big score was on the cards. A breakthrough by the spinners came just in time to claim 3 wickets courtesy Malik and Sohail to bring England to 156-3. Thrope took guard and went on to make a half century but that was about it , the next 7 made only 30 runs to slump on 249-9.Mushtaq Ahmed took 3 wickets.
Pakistan batting order rose to the chase, putting on 81 on the opening partnership. Out of top 4, 3 scored half centuries to take Pakistan comfortably to the requisite score of 250. Saeed Anwar top scored with 71 and Inzimam was unbeaten on 53. Aamir Sohail was adjudged Man of the Match.
The 38 year old Miandad received adulation from home crowd, Karachi, as this was his last game in front of his crowd.
Pakistan had secured a berth in Quarter Finals after the performance. The win against the Kiwis was icing on the cake.
New Zealand won the toss and put Pakistan to bat. Both openers went about their business, in a 71 run partnership where both made half centuries at a strike rate greater than 80.
3 run outs by the Kiwis threatened to dampen the progress but batsmen contributed regardless. A lighting cameo by Malik and Akram at the death of the innings accelerated them to a hefty 285.
New Zealand reply to the chase was meek. Openers went cheaply at 2-23. Middle order provided some comfort as Fleming(42) , Cairns(24) , Parore(32) and skipper Germon(41) , all made starts but did not go on to anchor the innings. Bowler Danny Morrison was injured while bowling and could not bat. With 235 all out, Pakistan won by a comfortable cushion of 45 runs.
All was set for Pakistan versus India encounter, a fiercely contested fight rivalling that of ashes. Emotions were high from both sides of the border as the Quarterfinal was set to be played at Chinnaswammy Stadium, Banglore. Pakistan suffered a setback at the eleventh hour, with skipper Akram deciding to withdraw claiming an injury.
Aamir Sohail was the stand-in captain. India won the toss and captain Azharuddin decided to bat first.
Openers Navjot Singh Sidhu and Tendulkar out on 90 runs in opening partnership. NS Sidhu in his typical style cracked 11 boundaries in his 93 and fell short of 7 for a well composed century. Captain Azharuddin played aggresively for his 22 while Kambli added 24 to his score card. It was however Jadeja who punished pacer Waqar Younus. The latter had gone for only 28 in his 8 overs. The last two went for 40 as Jadeja blazed to 45 off 25 in an innings with four 4s and two 6s. An imposing total of 287 was set to Pakistan.
Pakistani openers seized the initiative as they smacked the Indian bowlers around the park. Saeed Anwar fell on 48 after scoring five 4s and two 6s. Ijaz Ahmed and Inzimam both fell on scores of 12.
Heat of the battle, however, got to Sohail and in a flurry of wild slashes, fell to Prasad. Scoring became increasingly difficult. Keeper Rashid Latif fell after scoring run-a-ball 26. After his wicket fell, defeat was on the horizon. It was final nail in the coffin when Miandad ran himself out and Pakistan languished at 248-9 as the overs were bowled out. Arch-rival India had done it again. Emotions boiled over back in Pakistan and fans were heartbroken. Many vowed not to see a cricket match again.
A good start to campaign brought to an end by nemesis India; many would guess this was not the best way to go.
Score card Pakistan v South Africa at Karachi Score card Pakistan v England at Karachi Score card Pakistan v New Zealand at Lahore Score card India v Pakistan at Bangalore
With the memories of '96 cup fading, World Cup '99 emerged on the horizon. Pakistan was in a state of war at the time of this world cup and all eyes were on the Pakistani team to perform on the field
Following '96 cup Pakistani ODI team had a major revamp. On paper it had one of the best formations the ODIs have seen. A 4 pronged pace attack, supported by able spinners, an explosive middle order supplemented by accumulators and accelerators and good striking openers.
The World Cup had returned to England and the English summer was set to be the host of the ICC World Cup. Unlike other World Cups, no single sponsor was to be named for trophy's title, rather a group of sponsors were sought and the tournament's name was to be ' ICC World Cup'.
England was the primary host with Scotland, Ireland, Netherland and Wales as co-hosts. 17 venues from all across the breadth of England and 4 from the co-hosts were home to this edition.
The format for the cup was also revised. The 12 contesting teams were put in two groups. Each team had to play 5 matches against each other to qualify for the next stage; Super Sixes. The qualifiers from one group had to play with the qualifiers of the other group. Top four would then go to semi finals.
12 teams were to participate in the cricket carnival that lasted over a month.
The men in green's first task came against the Caribbean outfit in maroon. Although it did not closely resemble the all dominating team of 70s and 80s, it was still a force to be reckoned with. Bowling pair of Ambrose and Walsh, batting prowess of Lara, Chanderpaul and Sarwan made the team more than a decent competitor.
Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first. Courtney Walsh claimed the wickets of openers Anwar and Afridi in his spell. Razzaq was promoted up the order and got bowled over for a slow 7 off 34 balls. Inzamam was out first ball. It wasn’t till Ijaz Ahmed and Yousuf got on the crease to make 60 runs in 11 overs that the situation stabilized for Pakistan. But Lara had made a folly. Already short of one bowler as he added an extra batsman for depth, pushed overs from regular bowlers too far. With lethal bowlers seen off by the Pakistani duo at the crease , lower order batsman Wasim Akram and Azhar thumped into the second string bowlers , making 80 from the last 48 balls. Skipper Akram top scored with 43 off 29 balls with four 4s and two 6s. Pakistan got to 229-8 in 50 overs.
Pakistan's turn came to bowl. Wasim Akram and Shoiab Akhtar opened the bowling.
It was then, the Rawalpindi express announced himself on the world stage, steaming in at full pace. He bowled a sharp delivery that rose towards Sherwin Campbell's head and a shot that resembled a choked-pull was played. The ball went over slips for a six. Akhtar got his man in the next over though, with a fast delivery that crashed onto the stumps. Jacobs and Adams got in but could not capitalize as they went in their 20s but go out. With pacers Mehmood and Razzaq taking 3 a piece and Akhtar bowling at neck break speed; it fell to Chanderpaul who played a lone innings of 77 runs. He was the last man to go as he was caught at fine leg off the bowling of Akhtar.
Two points to Pakistan, Man of the Match to Azhar Mehmood for his all-round performance.
Pakistan's next match was to be played at the Chester Le Street, which was the ground's first international match. Minnow Scotland was the opponent.
Scotland won the toss and elected to field first. Batting on a green-top, Pakistan had a bumpy start, with openers dismissed without reaching double figures. Scores of 12 were made by one-down Razzaq and Inzamam in 53 and 50 balls each. Saleem Malik was out for duck. Until Youhana's arrival, Pakistan were struggling for 92-5 with 45 runs coming as sundries.
A 103 run partnership between Moin and Yousuf followed by late order carnage by Wasim Akram got Pakistan a repectable total of 261.
Scotland's tun to bat came and it was all Akram and Akhtar's show as the combination of sheer pace and controlled swing brought those 3 wickets apiece in the innings, with the first five wickets coming in 19 runs and 9 overs. Gavin Hamilton put on 76 but the rest of the team did not cooperate. The score was 167 all out in 39 overs.
Yousuf Youhana was the Man of the Match for his knock. Scottish bowling had equaled the record for most extras in an ODI while the match extras stood at 96 , another record.
Next in line came the Thunder Down Under Australian team at Headingley.
The Aussie lineup had many star players in every department. Gilchrist, Bevan, Ponting, Martyn and Waugh brothers were in batting, Mcgrath and Warne in bowling. Add to that an athletic fielding attribute and it would make a world class team.
Australia won the toss and decided to bowl first. Saeed Anwar batted a good pace for his 25 but nicked a delivery to keeper. Wajahat, an apparent weak link in the squad, perished at 9. Razzaq and Inzimam patiently batted for 108 runs before partnership was broken.
Inzamam was guilty of two run-outs in the innings. A later order eruption culminated 108 runs in the last 10 overs. Pakistan scrambled to 275-8 at 50 overs. Inzamam top scored with 81.
Australia took to the pitch for batting. The first breakthrough came in the first over with Akram hitting the stumps. The next wicket though, had to wait 91 runs before being claimed. Mark Waugh and Ponting made sure a platform was given to the middle order. 2 wickets in 3 balls from Saqlain left Aussies at 101-4. Steve Waugh remained at the crease and Bevan arrived. In his typical style, Bevan began accumulation, taking singles and doubles with a boundary once in a while. The partnership lasted 113 runs and kept Australiain in contention.
Wasim Akram had other plans, as he came back into the attack and took 3 quick wickets. Australia bundled out on 265-10 after putting up a fight.
Pakistan gained another 2 points while Australia slumped after two consecutive defeats. This led to a fight back from the Aussies and it would be a while before anyone could beat Australia in a World Cup, be it this edition or the next 3 to come. Man of the Match went to Inzimam Ul Haq .
Pakistan's next outing came at Derby against the blackcaps, New Zealand.
New Zealand won the toss and elected to field first.
Pakistani openers came to bat with aggression, striking 23 runs in first 2 overs. Razzaq put on a steady 33 before getting out while Ijaz Ahmed compiled a half century before partner Inzamam ran him out. Inzamam went on to strike 73 off 61 scoring 7 boundaries.
Geoff Allot took 4 wickets and was the pick of the bowlers.
New Zealand started their batting, struggling against the pacers. Akhtar took both openers via nick to keeper in a pacy spell. Captain Fleming scored 69 off 100 deliveries in a bid to keep the chase alive but found little support as Mahmood took 2 off 2 successive deliveries. 207 in 50 overs were mustered. Pakistan won by 62 runs, Man of the Match went to Inzamam again, second in a row.
Pakistan had a dream start to its campaign winning four out of four and qualifying with 2 matches to spare. The performance in the next two matches, however, was victims of Pakistan's over-confidence.
Pakistan was set to face Bangladesh at Northampton for their next match. There have been several shadows cast at the result of the fixture. At the dead rubber, Bangladesh felled an on-song team.
The Bangladeshi began their innings nicely , with first wicket falling at 69. Akram Khan top scored with 42 and opener Shariar with 39, with small contributions throughout the middle order as Pakistan bowlers looked ineffective barring Mushtaq, who took a five wicket haul to limit the batting side for 223.
Pakistani batting, however, looked like a house of cards as it collapsed under mediocre bowling. Wickets fell at 5,7,26 and 42. Azhar Mahmood and Wasim Akram top scored with 29 each while Moin Khan made 19. Tail Ender Saqi was the third highest scorer with 21.
That was a topsy turvy performance with label of 'Made in Pakistan’ all over it.
Super Six stage began with Pakistan set to face off against Proteas in the fixture. Pakistan won the toss for the match played at Nottingham, electing to bat first. The match was thriller to the end.
Pakistan started at snail-pace evident to the fact that none of the top 6 had strike rate of more than 63 while culminating 97 runs between them. Moin Khan, however, picked a leaf from a newer, aggressive book and shot six 4s and two 6s in a 56 ball 63 run knock. The score was 220-7 in 50 overs.
The green giants switched places and it was now the Saffans' turn to bat.
Akhtar, in his starting spell, bowled steamy deliveries to Gibbs. A further slump saw the batting side to 58-5 till Pollock and Kallis got a partnership of 77 runs in the next 16 overs.
Last 10 overs arrived with Klusner on crease with 66 needed. Shoaib Akhtar however was on the receiving end of a Klusner onslaught as he plundered 14 off him in a single over. The required run rate went low and South African chances went high from this point.
There were taken to finishing line with ease at the end, courtesy Boucher and Klusner. Man of the Match went to Klusner for his charge on the bowlers at the death of the innings.
Pakistan faced off arch-rivals India next. Pakistan was in a state of open war and the only instance in the history of the game where this has happened.
Played at Old Trafford , the match began in high anticipation as supporters of both sides cheered on . India won the toss and chose to bat.
The Pakistani bowling attack, kept enough pressure to enforce a slow start to the Indian innings. Tendulkar made 45, Dravid 61 and skipper Azharuddin 59 to take india to a total of 227, not a high score to contend with.
The Pakistani reply, however, was pierced by the bowling of Javagal Srinath who took 2 wickets of Afridi and Ijaz at 44-2.
Saleem Malik and Inzimam were trapped LBW by Prasad. Wasim Akram fell to the same bowler later on. The defeat was sealed when Skipper Akram was caught at deep backward square leg.
180 all out, Pakistan had imploded once again , losing 3 out of 3 encounters in World Cup consecutively.
Pakistan's final match in the super sixes, the one it had to win definitely to progress to the next stage. Needless to say, when it got its act together, it could work wonders.
At the Oval, Pakistan won the toss and decided to bat first. No top order collapse this time, 95 runs added for the first wicket. Inzamam chipped in with his contribution and Afridi apppeared in a cameo. Anwar made a century. The final score was 271-9. Slow over rate cost Zimbabwe an over.
Pakistani pace battery quickly dismantled Zimbabwe. Akhtar with his usual pace struck first, followed by 3 wickets from a Razzaq spell. Dual 16s by Whithall and Streak was the only double figure contribution except Johnson, who made a half century. Pakistan won by a crushing 148 runs and qualified for the semis. Man of the Match went to Saeed Anwar.
Pakistan faced off kiwis in the semi-finals. Having defeated them once, they set out to strengthen their record by adding another victory for the record.
It was an all Akhtar affaris as the bowler peaked 90MPH regularly. He took Astle at start, came back for Fleming and ended with scalp of Harris. In between Akram and Razzaq provided a couple each. Three scores of 40+ were recorded by skipper Fleming, Twose and Cairns.
Pakistan in reply started calmly, with Anwar and Wasti accumulating easy runs off the bowlers. Saeed raised his bat at his century while Wajahat made 84, a rare good performance by him. By the time Wasti holed out in 41st over, the task was almost complete. Ijaz charged the bowlers to complete it. A 195 run 1st wicket partnership was a new world record stand. Pakistan had reached the finals once again.
Facing Pakistan was the Aussies, who had a narrow tie in a thriller that went to the wire. After much excitement from fans, both inside stadium and outside it, play began at Lords. Saeed Anwar's fluency by cutting the deliveries early on was hardly an indication of what followed, both openers were dismissed at 22. Razzaq was removed by Tom Moody after a slow 17. Then came Shane Warne on attack. His spell changed the course of the match. Warned bowled a beauty at Ijaz which spun and hit off-stump. An edge by Moin Khan to keeper added another feather in Warne's cap.
Afridi got LBW by mistiming a straighter one. Paul Reifel got Inzamam out in a controversial decision. It seemed nothing was going in Pakistan's way. The score here was 132 all out, a sorry sight indeed.
Australia began to bat. When Gilchrist miscued a length ball by Akhtar ,it looked like Pakistan's luck may shine for a moment. It was not the case and would be the last folly as Gilchrist blistered to 54 off 36 balls with eight 4s and a six. Waugh(37) and Ponting(24) provided the company as Aussies reached the finishing line. Pakistan lost by 8 wickets with 179 balls to spare.
This ended Pakistan's road to World Cup '99. A good start but a horrendous finish. The decade of the 90s was fruitful as far as World Cups were concerned.
One Cup , one Final and one Quarter Final. Not bad for a team that would struggle epically in the decade to come in World Cups.
The ’03 World Cup had big guns and stars in the squad as far as the Pakistani team was concerned. But the stats on paper did not convert to performance on the field. The tour ended in embarrassment and saw Pakistan crash in initial stages. Half a dozen careers ended prematurely as the result of the debacle.
The format of the tournament followed that of ’99 Cup. Total teams were 14. 10 test teams (Bangladesh had achieved Test status) and 4 associate sides . This World Cup would see a lot of upsets as Zimbabwe would progress to Super Sixes and Kenya to Semi Finals where hosts South Africa, England, West Indies and Pakistan would perish at group stage. Pakistan began its campaign by playing the defending Aussies in the opener.
Wasim Akram opened the bowling and took the openers quickly. Ponting, however, stood his ground and made 50 in 59 balls while Martyn and Maher fell cheaply at 0 and 9 respectively.
In came Andrew Symonds and played gem of an innings at a time when Aussies were reeling at 86-4. Smashing eighteen 4s and two 6s, he tamed the bowlers. In an innings lasting 125 deliveries he belted 143 runs all around the park. 310 stood the score. A 6-run per over chase against the Aussies lied ahead.
Pakistan responded meekly, Afridi giving a catch to the keeper. Saleem Elahi made 30 before he got caught. A string of scores of 27, 19, 25, 32, 33 by the next batsmen as they all got an eye in but failed to capitalize was the major reason of Pakistan’s demise. Totally outclassed by the Thunder-Down-Under outfit, Pakistan lost the match by 82 runs.
Next up were minnows Namibia versus Pakistan. Electing to bat first, an agile in field Namibia contained Pakistan via tight bowling and good fielding. Made 255 where the last 80 came from 10 overs, in a partnership between Moin Khan and Wasim Akram.
Score
card for Australia v Pakistan
What happened next was described in the headlines the next morning. ‘Akram and Akhtar decimate Namibia in trial by fire’. 9 wickets between them at 42-9, last partnership lasted another 32 to avoid them the record for lowest total. Pakistan won by 171 runs.
Score card for Namibia v Pakistan
England versus Pakistan at Cape Town came next. English won the toss, electing to bat first. Vaughn made a fifty at one down. Keeper Stewart made 30 , Collingwood made 66 with support of Flintoff. 246-8 . Waqar, Saqlain and Afridi took 2 wickets each.
In reply to a modest 246, Pakistan had somehow managed a 100+ runs defeat margin.
Score
card for England v Pakistan
Next came match against minnows, Netherlands. Feasting on the opportunity, Pakistan scored a victory though batting remained suspect.
Openers put on 61 runs in partnership before getting out. Razzaq made 47 and Yousuf made 58 but nothing of note came from the others as Pakistan reached 253-8.
In reply , the 4 pronged Pakistani pace attack , aided by Saqlain made light work of Dutch side with Van Bugle top scoring with 31. Akram and Akhtar took 3 each. Man of the Match went to Yousuf.
Indian rivals were next in line to play Pakistan. It had slim chances to go to next round and it entered the fray looking confident.
For once, the batting wasn’t a complete let down. Saeed Anwar made a good hundred at strike rate of 80 at the top of the order. Accompanying him was Taufiq Umar who put a 58 run partnership. Pakistan lost a couple in successions but a 73 run partnership of Yousuf with Anwar still had Pakistan at a stable 171-4.
Late order hitting by Younus Khan and Rashid Latif got Pakistan to 273-7 in 50 overs. A defendable total provided Pakistani team bowled well.
Wasim opened the bowling and Akhtar followed lead in the second over. Akhtar bowled his usual fiery pace with Tendulkar facing him. A bouncer wide of the off stump was cut magnificently for a six. Another two balls and two fours smashed one straight down the ground, another swiveled on the leg side. The tone of the match was set; the master blaster went on to 98, scoring twelve 4s and a 6 at a strike rate of 130.
Sehwag also joined for a brief cameo. Bu 12th over India had reached 100. Dravid and Yuvraj made the rest with ease, defeating them in their four consecutive outings in ICC World Cups.
Score card for India v Pakistan
Pakistan was knocked unceremoniously out of the Cup as the next match against Zimbabwe was washed out to rain.
Many members of the squad had their careers cut short in the debacle. The ’07 cup would feature only 5 out of 15 members of this squad.
best as it was a year before. Akhtar and Asif, spearheads of bowling were out with a doping ban. Razzaq was injured. Umar Gul played with back pain; Shahid Afridi had a ban that would last two crucial matches in its first matches. Pakistan had no stable openers in years and even experimented with Younus Khan in opening slot in warm ups. The management imported Azhar Mehmood from the English County after a long gap from national duty. A broken team bound with scotch tape landed in Windies to play the ’07 World Cup. The World Cup was awarded for the first time to Windies despite being the second most successful team. After an array of warm up matches, the tournament kicked off in spectacular fashion with opening ceremony. Hosts played Pakistan on the first match at Sabina Park, Jamaica.
Pakistan won the toss and decided to field first. Umar Gul picked up dangerous Gayle early on. Sarwan and Chanderpaul put 57 runs on 2nd wicket while Lara and Chanderpaul put 91 on 4th at a brisk pace. Lower order hitting by Dwayne Smith got West Indies to 241-9 at 50 over mark.
Pakistan started its batting and the mercurial batting showed its instability at 39-3. Powell took out both openers while Younus fell to Taylor. Pakistan put on 60 at 4th wicket at a moderate strike rate and 43 runs on the 8th wicket partnership but that was about it. The score at this point was 187 all out for Pakistan. Malik top scored with 62.
Minnows Ireland were next and the match was considered written off for Ireland.
An ugly surprise lay ahead of Pakistan as Ireland won the toss and decided to field first on a green top. Swing bowling by Boyd Rankin and accurate spin by Botha made Pakistan look like a third rate Sunday League team.
Kamran Akmal scored with 27 and ‘Extras’ top scored with 29 as Pakistan collapsed to 132( an ominous figure , ’99 World Cup anyone ? )
Pakistan took to field and got top three Irish batsmen cheaply at scores of 3, 13, and 2 respectively. But Neil O Brein made a solid 72 even with wickets falling around him.
7 wickets fell but O Brein took them to the finishing line. Scoring 133-7 in 41.4 overs, Pakistan once again was out of the tournament in group stages unceremoniously.
Score card for Ireland v PakistanBob Woolemer died the next day and Inzimam announced retirement from ODIs. It mattered little when Pakistan smashed Zimbabwe later in the dead rubber. Imran Nazir top scoring with 160, set a record for World Cup ’07.
Pakistan came back nursing its wound when it landed back on its soil. Inzimam retired afterwards.
World Cup 2011, the last edition that took place saw India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh as the hosts. Pakistan had its share of matches withdrawn by ICC in wake of 2009 attack on Sri Lankan team. Pakistani management did not announce the captain for the ODI team with World Cup only 3 months away. Afridi emerged as skipper after leading them to a series victory against the kiwis.
Pakistan started off against minnows Kenya in the first match. True to nature, the openers fell cheaply even against associates but Kamran Akmal, Younus, Misbah and Umar Akmal scored half centuries to make 317-7 in 50 overs.
In reply, Afridi broke the Kenyan batting with a five wicket haul coming at 16 runs. A couple by Umar Gul ensured a huge 205 runs victory margin.
Score card for Kenya v Pakistan
Next came Sri Lankans at their home ground, Colombo. Winning the toss and electing to bat first, Pakistan started positively but lost wickets at the top of the order as batsmen failed to capitalize on their starts. It wasn’t until Younus Khan and Misbah put on 108 at 4th wicket till Pakistan got stable. Misbah top scored with 83 off 91. Pakistan reached 277-7.
Sri Lankan reply was solid, with Tharanga and Dilshan putting on 76 for the first wicket. Afridi struck with four wickets. Skipper-keeper Sangakkara fell one short of a half century while Silva scored 57 off 78 in a middle order fightback as Akhtar and Afride claimed six wickets between them. The tail could not keep up with the run rate and fell shy by 11 runs. Afridi was Man of the Match.
Associates Canada were next at the Premadasa Stadium Colombo where the hallmark imploding batting display manifested once again. Against innocuous bowling of Canada, Pakistan fell cheaply for 184.
Only the middle order saved grace as 5th wicket partnership of younger Akmal and Misbah put on 73 in 20 overs to pull Pakistan out of unchartered waters. It went upto the bowling to save the day.
It responded in kind, removing openers in first 5 overs. The next 3 put on 27, 13, 43 to frustrate bowling for a while. A. Hansra top scored with 43 but ‘lala’ took 5 wickets in a display of attacking bowling to restrict Canada to 138. Pakistan’s skin had been saved once again by its bowling.
Score card for Canada v Pakistan
Kiwis faced Pakistan at Pallekele, Sri Lanka next. The black caps won the toss and elected to bat first. Dangerous Mcullum went in first over courtesy Shoaib Akhtar hitting off stump.
Martin Guptill made a half century and then Ross Taylor arrived on the crease to give him company. He was given a reprieve by the keeper in his first over as the ball was let go when it nicked behind. He went on to smash 131 runs in his innings to take them to 302-7.
Pakistan’s frail batting manifested again. Only Shehzad got double figures at the top, out of 5 top batsmen. Tim Southee and Kyle Mills bled Pakistan’s top order slowly with 45-5. Abdul Razzaaq made a 67 run contribution at number 7 but resistance started and ended there. The result was 192 all out losing by 110 runs. When it came to performing, the batting was found wanting.
Score card for New Zealand v Pakistan
Pakistan took on Australia in their next big fixture. Australia had been last beaten by Pakistan in ’99 World Cup and since then a streak of wins followed. Pakistan would end this streak in this match.
Aussies won the toss and elected to bat first at the Premadasa Stadium, Colombo. Gul got Watson out early while Haddin nudged and prodded for his 42. Clarke made 34 but apart from these two, nobody crossed 30. Gul took 3 and Razzaq took 2 wickets while the bowlers chipped in with a single wicket to choke them to 176.
Pakistani batting began with Hafeez dismissed cheaply by Lee who bowled with pace and discipline. Kamran Akmal made 23 including five 4s but Lee got to him as well.
Younus Khan and Shafiq put on a partnership of 53 to stabilize the innings when Lee broke it once again with Misbah following in next ball. But apart from Lee, there appeared no breakthrough from his fellow bowlers. Umar Akmal took them across the line with 54 balls to spare. He was awarded Man of the Match for his 44.
Score card for Australia v PakistanPakistan made it to the Quarter Fianls and faced the men from Caribbean in the fixture. It was a total one sided affair as Pakistan dominated them at Sher e Bangla Stadium, Dhaka. West Indies won the toss and nothing went their way after their openers were dismissed cheaply at 16-2 followed by one down Bravo who made that 16-3. There was little fight back except for lone warrior Chanderpaul who stood at 44 when all were dismissed.
West Indies was ‘lala-fied’ into submission by 4 wickets. 112 all out.
Pakistani openers took guard and began batting. Both batted till then end in a 113 runs partnership. Pakistan qualified for Semi Finals against India. Man of the Match was Hafeez for his unbeaten 61.
Pakistan faced arch-rivals India at Mohali for the next round, the fifth such encounter to happen at the World Cups.
India won the toss at the day & night match played at Mohali and chose to bat first on a track that offered batsman a chance to score.
Sehwag led the assault on the bowlers and smashed nine 4s in a 38 run innings. Wahab struck just in time to plug the score.
Tendulkar played second fiddle at the start and played a pivot role in the 68 runs partnership with Gambhir at one down. Wahab struck again with vital wickets of Kohli, Yuvraj and Dhoni to hit at the heart of the Indian middle order. At 205-6, India looked unstable. The lower order saved some grace and India went on to make 260 runs for the loss of 9 wickets.
Wahab’s five-for had given Pakistan a realistic chance of winning the fixture.
The opening partnership was pretty good by Pakistani standards, lasting 44 runs. Hafeez made 43 when his wicket was claimed.
Asad Shafiq and Younus khan were picked in tandem at 103-3 and 106-4. From there on, only Misbah Ul Haq resisted as five out of five Indian bowlers picked 2 wickets each.
The end was signaled when Afridi got out after a cameo at number 8. Misbah got out on the penultimate ball of the innings as the Indian crowd celebrated their victory.
The score was 231 all out, 49.5 overs. The batting again failed to come up to expectations despite limiting the explosive Indian lineup to 260.
Score card 2nd Semi-Final: India v Pakistan
Pakistan had gone to the semi finals after 2 editions, a good performance that could have been bettered if not for some mistakes.
Our review of Pakistan’s road to World Cup 15 ends here. Pakistan squad is not the one it was back in ’11 cup, with injuries, bans on spinners taking its toll. Will Pakistan be able to spring back is a matter which will be decided by the men in green themselves when they take to the pitch next month.