When Pakistan came from nowhere and won the 1992 World Cup
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Pakistan's only World Cup win, came as a surprise in 1992
The 5th Cricket World Cup [officially the Benson & Hedges World Cup (WC) 1992] organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC), was held in Australia and New Zealand (NZ) from February 22 to March 25, 1992, with Pakistan, under the charismatic leadership of Imran Khan, beating England by 22 runs, in a pulsating final, to become WC champions for the first time. Incidentally, the writer was a most interested spectator at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, at this event. Now, having been at Lord’s in 1983, when India carried the Cup away, with Kapil Dev at the helm, wasn’t I being too much of an optimist for Sri Lanka to do the same at the next WC (1996), and thus complete a hat-trick of wins by India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka (SL)? That is another story.
With players attired in coloured clothing, white balls and black sight-screens and some fixtures played under floodlights, the 9 participating countries, England, Australia, India, Pakistan, SL, West Indies (WI), South Africa (SA), NZ, and Zimbabwe (an Associate Member), played 39 matches that kept the fans at the edge of their seats right through the tournament.
Of course, the format from the previous WCs was changed, with a complete Round-Robin (R-R) replacing the former two qualifying Groups. Initially, the draw was for 8 competing nations and 28 R-R matches plus two semi-finals and the final. However, SA was re-admitted into the fold after 21 years in isolation, and thus the draw was amended to accommodate a further eight games to the R-R.
NZ became the red-hot favourite for the title, winning their first seven successive games and naturally, finished on top of the table, after the R-R, with 14 points. Their ploy was to open the bowling with an off-spinner, D.N. Patel. Remember, with a new ball for the first time being used at either end, and for opening batsman Mark Greatbatch to use the long-handle, in the manner of a Sanath Jayasuriya, and the NZ opener averaged 44.7 in 7 innings, with an aggregate of 313 runs. In fact, this plan was very successful even against India.
Australia, the other co-hosts, who were the favourites to win the title, lost their first two games, and despite winning four of the next six games, still could not make it to the semi-finals. SL made the highest score of the tournament 313/7, at Pukekura Park, against Zimbabwe, but the latter made the second highest total of 312/4, in the tournament, before conceding a win to SL by a hair’s breath. SL also beat SA by 3 wickets, but did not make much progress. The game against India was affected by rain and was reduced to 20 overs, and then washed out completely.
NZ lost only two games in the tournament, both to Pakistan in consecutive games, in their final group match, and in the crucial semifinal, when skipper Martin Crowe made a fatal decision to rest his leg injury, and Pakistan cantered into the final. Pakistan had only 1 win in their first five games, and was also lucky to obtain one point against England, after being rolled over for a pathetic 74 runs. Rain was the deciding factor in most games, indeed to a controversial level.
Urged on by the magnetic Pakistani skipper Imran Khan – the present Prime Minister of his country – who entreated his players to come out fighting like “cornered tigers”, they won their next few games, to enter the final and cross swords with England.
This was a thrilling game. Skipper Imran and Javed Miandad set the stage with a partnership of 139 runs for the third wicket. However, a dazzling inning by young Inzamam-ul-Haq- 42 off 35 balls- and Wasim Akram- 33 off 18 balls- was the icing on the cake of Pakistan’s total of 240/6. England desperately tried to make a game of it, when Neil Fairbrother and Allan Lamb took England to 141/4.
Then Wasim Akram, bowling from round the wicket, clean bowled Lamb and Chris Lewis in successive deliveries, and that was that. England fell 22 runs short, with Imran Khan capturing the last wicket of Richard Illingworth, to give Pakistan their first WC. In a post-match media conference, skipper Imran Khan praised the innings by young Inzamam-ul-Haq to the hilt. Remember Inzamam does not understand a word of English. A reporter then mentioned: “You know Imran, you never praise a player to that extent, especially when he is that young. After all, he may lose his head” or words to that effect. Imran’s reply was classic: “Don’t worry, he does not understand a word of what we are speaking about”. The whole room exploded in laughter.
However, this was the WC where rain interruptions played the proverbial havoc, which eventually resulted in tighter rulings on rain interruptions in future games, at all levels in One-Day Internationals.