World Cup 2019: The similarities between Pakistan's 1992 and 2019 campaigns are getting spookier by the day
It is said that people are always destined for something, and that their fate is scripted from the start. But this time around there's evidence to back it - courtesy the confounding similarity of Pakistan's journey in the 1992 World Cup and the 2019 World Cup.
With plenty of theories around the eerie similarities coming to the fore, many people have started proclaiming that Pakistan will now go on to clinch the World Cup.
At the start of the tournament everyone had started writing off Pakistan including their own fans, but there's been a stellar comeback in the last couple of weeks. The mercurial Pakistanis have defeated South Africa and New Zealand, and are now back in the reckoning.
To aid their efforts, England have lost their last two games. That has opened up a genuine chance for Pakistan to make it to the semifinals.
Here are some of the similarities in the 1992 and 2019 editions that have left people gobsmacked:
Format of the World Cup
In 1992, there were nine teams in the World Cup and the round-robin format meant that all teams played once against each other. The top four eventually qualified for the semi-finals.
After 1992, such a format was not used again - until 2019. This year's World Cup has the same round-robin format where the top 4 teams are going to progress to the semi-finals.
Sequence of results
From Game 1 to the recently concluded Game 7, Pakistan's results have been exactly the same. Here is the sequence of their results in the 1992 edition:
Match 1: Lost
Match 2: Won
Match 3: Rained out
Match 4: Lost
Match 5: Lost
Match 6: Won
Match 7: Won
And here is the sequence of their results in 2019:
Match 1: Lost
Match 2: Won
Match 3: Rained out
Match 4: Lost
Match 5: Lost
Match 6: Won
Match 7: Won
The win-loss sequence being similar is perhaps not so astonishing, but if you throw in the washout then it starts sounding really spooky. For the no-result to happen in the 3rd game of both the editions is quite remarkable.
In-game similarities
Match 6
In 1992, Match 6 had seen a left-handed batsman Aamir Sohail being adjudged as man of the match. In 2019, Match 6 saw a left-handed batsman Haris Sohail being adjudged as man of the match.
Match 7
- In 1992, Match 7 saw Rameez Raja score an unbeaten 100 and secure a win for Pakistan by 7 wickets. In 2019, Match 7 saw Babar Azam score an unbeaten 100 and secure a win for Pakistan by 6 wickets.
- In 1992, Pakistan faced an unbeaten New Zealand who were then defeated for the 1st time in that World Cup. In 2019, Pakistan faced an unbeaten New Zealand who were handed their 1st defeat of this World Cup.
- In 1992, New Zealand were reduced to 39-3 in the 1st innings. In 2019, New Zealand were reduced to 39-3 in the 1st innings.
Player similarities
In 1992, Pakistan had Inzamam-ul-Haq. In 2019, Pakistan have Inzamam's nephew Imam-ul-Haq.
Whether all of this leads to something significant or not, only time will tell. But the eerie similarities have certainly sprung a surprise and have left people completely amazed
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