Team History at Cricket World Cup – Pakistan (1975-2011)
If words were picked to define teams in the World Cup, ‘unlucky’ would symbolize South Africa, ‘ruthlessness’ would probably define Australia, ‘passionate’ might be apt for India, ‘flair’ might go the West Indies way and ‘underdogs’ would be ideal for New Zealand. But what word could you possibly pick for Pakistan? Would ‘enigmatic’ clinch the deal, given the mysterious mix of good luck and dynamic leadership that coaxed them to their greatest night?
Would ‘mercurial’ be the right word for a team that blows hot and cold with the same alternating frequency as the flickering night lamps in rural India during summer evenings? Probably we could settle on ‘exotic’, because exotic has flavours and so does Pakistan. Exotic has mystery, so does Pakistan. Exotic has variety, so does Pakistan. Most importantly, exotic attracts and so does Pakistan.
From the fairy tale night of 1992 when cricket’s greatest Khan rolled the red carpet for himself with that indomitable sense of purpose to the disaster of 2007, following the shock exit caused by the loss to Ireland, Pakistan has given its fans a bumpy ride. From moments of genius that grind the best teams to dust to moments of ridiculous mediocrity, Pakistan owns the roller-coaster in cricket, especially in World Cups.
Overall Stats
Pakistan has been a good side in World Cups; not a great side like Australia or West Indies in the tournament’s early days, but good. Good that finds synonyms in other words, like attractive, charming, admirable. Sometimes, like on those two eventful nights at Auckland and Melbourne, you might drift a little and indulge yourself the luxury of using ‘adorable’. Yes, that batch of ’92 was adorable, losing their first match by 10 wickets to West Indies and unfairly gaining a point from an abandoned match that they deserved to lose against eventual runners-up England. Good, because 36 wins out of 64 in World Cup matches overall is the kind of performance that allows you to grin in pride.
You still don’t get daddy’s nodding approval, not the reserved spot on the drawing-room mantelpiece. But good enough to get your mom’s smile. Good, because the ‘exotic’ managed four semi-final appearances apart from the ’92 trophy. Good, because the strange odyssey that is Pakistan cricket always embodied unpredictability – a 10-wicket loss to West Indies and also a 10-wicket win against the same country. Their relationship with West Indies is quite a bizarre one, as Pakistan also has a win and a loss by just 1 wicket against West Indies. After all, who could forget the heartbreaking loss when Murray and Roberts put on 64 for the last wicket to chase down 267?
Pakistan has had strange World Cups: the ’92 for example, when not even the most optimistic fans gave them a chance in hell of reaching the semis, leave alone lifting the cup. But, like Rameez Raja who took ‘that last catch’ mentions, their captain was always 100% sure that it was going to be Pakistan’s tournament. And it was. Down Under. Coloured Clothing and lovely lights. Massive grounds that didn’t have ropes. Charming. Very charming indeed.
Almost a fairy-tale finish that incorporated South Africa’s rainy nightmare and New Zealand’s juggernaut malfunction when it mattered most. Pakistan’s 6-3 in ‘92 followed their 5-2 in ’87 when they were on fire, winning the first 5 games, but losing the last two including the one that mattered, the semi-final. ’96 was heartbreaking, ending No.2 in their group, but losing to arch-rivals India in the quarter-finals, losing in spite of Aamir Sohail’s breathtaking arrogance.
Yet 4-2 was not bad. ’99 took them to the crescendo, before Australia flattened them in the finals so badly that it took them three World Cups to recover. 2003 was mediocre, if mediocre survived on scraps. 2007 was dismal, so dismal that you could find their performance lying next to the litter that misses the garbage can after matches. If reaching the semi-finals in 2011 was any relief, it fizzled in the face of a defeat to, guess who? Their arch-rivals, again – who snatched victory from the jaws of defeat or who were gifted away.
Best Performance
So, what about that gorgeous, glitzy world cup of ’92 that makes it Pakistan’s best performance? Was it the sense of the underdogs finally making it big? Was it the captain courageous, the genius who owned the ground, the team and the audience, almost like he used a wand to play cricket and not bat and ball? Was it the beauty with which fortunes changed and destinies chalked making sure that a velvety path was opened up for the team that had the universe’s puzzling conspiracy working in its favor at every juncture? We would never know. All we would know is that Pakistan lost 3 of their first 5 matches and salvaged a point from a match where they were all out for 74, thanks to the rain.
Then came the cascading turnaround, the genius of Imran Khan whirling his wand yet again, making the rooks and bishops in Inzamams and Akrams perform breathtaking stunts, stunts that would ensure that glittery, sparkling crystal of a World Cup was theirs, a World Cup where they won their last 5 matches on a trot, where hosts Australia did them a mighty favour by knocking the Windies out.
Crowe and Greatbatch’s intimidating Black Caps bowed out in the semi-finals, after a young, innocent looking future-great smashed 60 in 37. England didn’t know what hit them in waves at the MCG, until it was too late to realize that it was a tall, fast left-armer who talked to the cherry like Harry Potter talked with snakes.