1992 ODI World Cup Recap will again prove that Pakistan is a mercurial ODI side.
Over the years they have built up a reputation where they could beat the World Champions with ease but would also lose to minnows. There is no doubt that Pakistan is one of the most popular teams in the world, and they have bounced back from lows several times.
A good example could be the 2007 World Cup where they were beaten by Ireland and were knocked out. Moreover, this tournament also saw their coach Bob Woolmer found dead in his hotel room in mysterious circumstances.
Two years later as the Sri Lankan team was attacked in Lahore, Pakistan was pushed into the cricketing wilderness for a decade. But they always bounced back and showed their A game.
It’s the same reason that gamblers never forget to bet on Pakistan as a part of ODI Cricket World Cup Betting.
Let’s revisit the legacy of Pakistan cricket team at World Cups, particularly in 1992.
1992 ODI World Cup Recap | Pakistan’s Triumph
The year 1992 saw a new format being introduced.
Which meant each team played against each other on the basis of a round-robin format.
Here, Pakistan played some ordinary cricket in the first five matches of the tournament, winning just one in five games.
Nevertheless, in the second half of the tournament, they went on to win everything, eventually winning the trophy, beating England at Sydney Cricket Ground.
In this section, we will take a look at Pakistan’s campaign on a match-by-match basis.
Pakistan vs West Indies, Match 4:
In their first match, Pakistan were beaten badly. They batted first at the Melbourne Cricket Grounds and managed to post a score of 220/2.
The top-order batters were slow and West Indies took full advantage.
In reply, West Indies chased down the target with ten wickets to spare.
Pakistan vs Zimbabwe, Match 7:
Nevertheless, Pakistan were too good against Zimbabwe.
They batted first and posted a score of 254, riding on the century of Aamer Sohail.
In reply, Zimbabwe was never in the game and failed to chase down the target.
Wasim Akram picked up three wickets for 21 runs as Pakistan won by 53 runs.
Pakistan vs England, Match 13:
Their third match was abandoned by rain. Both teams shared points.
India vs Pakistan, Match 16:
In the game between arch-rivals, Pakistan faltered yet again.
They had done well to restrict India to 216/7, in reply, their batting unit faltered under pressure.
Aamer Sohail scored 52 and Javed Miandad scored 40, and yet couldn’t chase the target.
Indian bowling fired in unison with the likes of Kapil Dev, Manoj Prabhakar, and Javagal Srinath picking two wickets each.
Pakistan vs South Africa, Match 22:
After losing this match, Pakistan’s campaign looked like going awry.
They had lost another match and this time to South Africa.
In a match that was affected by rain, Pakistan failed to chase down 212, they were restricted to 173/8.
Pakistan vs Australia, Match 26:
It’s from this match onwards that Pakistan’s campaign started to turn. In fact, they never lost a match, winning all the way.
It all began with a valiant 76 from Aamer Soahil. His knock helped Pakistan reach a total of 220/9.
In reply, Australia was bowled out for 172. While Mushtaq Ahmed and Aaqib Javed picked up three wickets each, Imran Khan and Wasim Akram picked up two wickets each.
Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, Match 33:
In another superlative performance, Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by 4 wickets and five balls remaining.
Sri Lanka batted first and posted a total of 212.
In reply, riding on the knocks of Javed Miandad (57) and Saleem Malik (51), Pakistan won the match with ease.
Pakistan vs New Zealand, Match 34:
Wasim Akram bowled his heart out, picking up figures of 4/32 as New Zealand were shot out for 166.
In reply, riding on the superb century from Ramiz Raja, Pakistan chased down the total with 6 overs to spare.
This also meant that they are now heading for the semi-finals.
Pakistan vs New Zealand, Match 34: (1st Semi-Final)
The two teams were again up against each other. However, the occasion has changed but Pakistan continued to be clinical.
The hosts had won the toss and batted first. They eventually managed to post a total of 262.
In reply, Pakistan batters came to the party with skipper Imran Khan promoting himself as number three.
While the skipper scored 44, he got great support from man-in-form Ramiz Raja(44) and Javed Miandad (57).
Youngster Inzamam-Ul-Haq too came out to bat lower down the order and managed to finish things off with a brilliant 60 off 37 balls.
Pakistan vs England (The Final)
In the big final, Pakistan batted first and lost both their openers quickly.
Nonetheless, the likes of Imran Khan (72), Javed Miandad (58), and Inzamam-Ul Haq (42) ensured that Pakistan post a great score of 249/6 on the board.
In reply, England tried hard with Neil Fairbrother scoring a fifty. But the pressure got to them and they managed to score 227 in the end.
Wasim Akram and Mushtaq Ahmed were the pick of the bowlers with three wickets each. Aaqib Javed picked up two.
With this win, Pakistan became the second subcontinent team to lift the trophy.
Final Thoughts on 1992 ODI World Cup Recap
This is how Pakistan managed to lift the trophy. Here, Pakistan showed resilience.
Their campaign was in tatters, but they came back and managed to win the trophy, earning themselves a nickname as ‘Cornered Tigers.’
This trophy saw the swansong of their legendary captain Imran Khan who would retire from international cricket soon after. However, they found some great youngsters in Wasim Akram, Inzamam-Ul-Haq who would serve them for a very long time.
