The fifth Cricket World Cup, which took place in Australia and New Zealand from February 22 to March 25, 1992, was known as the 1992 World Cup. Imran Khan led Pakistan to victory over England in the championship match at the storied Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), capping more than a month of intense cricket activity.
The 1992 World Cup is mainly remembered for Pakistan’s courageous effort and the infamous semifinal between South Africa and England, which was decided in favour of England by the contentious “rain rule.” The Proteas attempted to exploit the rule in the knockout game by slowing down play, but their strategy failed and cost them the World Cup trophy.
World Cup 1992:
Pakistan won its first and only World Cup victory in 1992 despite being the underdogs. The Men in Green had a difficult time in the early rounds of the tournament because they only managed to win one game out of their opening five games. Imran Khan and his team staged a comeback in the event after their team’s 20-run defeat to South Africa at the Gabba, and they assisted their side in winning all of their games to take home the championship.
After losing to Pakistan by 22 runs, England finished the competition as the runner-up. The English team was participating in the World Cup finals for the third time, but regrettably, they were unable to capitalise on the opportunity. Five of their eight games in the competition were victories for the Graham Gooch-led team, who advanced to the knockout rounds. They defeated the Proteas by 22 runs in the semi-final, securing their place in the final against Pakistan.
Teammates & players:
In the semifinal match against Pakistan, New Zealand, which took advantage of playing at home to finish first in the group stage points standings, faltered. The Kiwi team exited the competition on a dismal note after losing to Pakistan by four wickets. After a respectable showing in the group stage, South Africa was adversely affected by the rain rule in the semifinal match against England. The Proteas exited the tournament after losing by 19 runs against the English team in the final round.
The 1992 World Cup marked the final time that stalwarts like Imran Khan, Allan Border, Graham Gooch, Ian Botham, Kapil Dev, and Kris Srikkanth competed in a Cricket World Cup. Imran finished his career on a high note towards the conclusion of the competition, making the fans of the Pakistan cricket team happy in the process.
Format of the tournament:
The 1992 World Cup included nine teams instead of the eight from earlier tournaments. Zimbabwe, an associate team, was given the opportunity to compete among eight other regular International Cricket Council (ICC) members after defeating the Netherlands in the 1990 ICC Trophy final.
The round-robin stage was used as opposed to grouping teams into teams. The top four teams went to the knockout rounds to play the semi-final, while the winners of the semi-final advanced to the final at the MCG. Each team played one game against each of its opponents during the round-robin round.
Iconic Match & Moment:
At Eden Park in Auckland, the co-hosts and neighbouring nations of Australia and New Zealand squared off. The Kiwi team got off to a good start in the competition by crushing the Aussies by 37 runs in the first game. The massive 10-wicket victory by the West Indies against Pakistan at the venerable MCG emanated confidence.
The strongest rivalry in the Cricket World Cups between India and Pakistan also had its start during the competition. India defeated their arch-rivals by 43 runs at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), beginning their dominance in ODI World Cups that has continued to this day.
In the championship game, Pakistan outplayed the English team and won by a score of 22 runs. As soon as the game began, Aamer Sohail and Ramiz Raja, the Men in Green’s openers, left for the pavilion. The team’s captain, Imran, took matters into his own hands and scored 72 runs for the group. Javed Miandad also maintained composure while scoring a half-century. The young player at the time, Inzamam-ul-Haq, hit 42 out of 35, which contributed to the team’s respectable 249 run total.
Wasim Akram put on a terrific display, contributing significantly with both bat and ball. In the final over of his team’s innings, he smashed England’s bowling unit while batting at position six. The southpaw batted quickly, scoring 33 runs off just 18 pitches. The pacer used the ball to shatter the back of England’s batting, taking the highly prized victims Chris Lewis, Allan Lamb, and Ian Botham. The speedster was named Player of the Match for his outstanding all-around performance.
Key players:
Javed Miandad, Ramiz Raja, Wasim Akram, and Mushtaq Ahmed all made significant contributions to Pakistan’s first title victory. Miandad finished as the second-highest run-scorer overall with 437 runs and five fifty-plus scores in nine matches. Ramiz Raja finished the campaign as Pakistan’s second-highest run-scorer with 349 runs scored in eight games.
As a bowler, Wasim Akram performed effectively, taking 18 wickets in 10 games for an economy of 3.76. Mushtaq Ahmed, the captain of the spin unit, contributed significantly to Pakistan’s historic triumph by taking 16 wickets in nine matches at an economy rate of 3.98. With the ball, Ian Botham did well, taking 16 wickets in 10 games for an economy of 3.43.
In their final World Cup, legends like David Boon and Peter Noel Kirsten demonstrated their prowess with the bat. With their incredible hitting statistics, both superstars climbed to the top of the list of run scorers. Kirsten finished as the third-highest run scorer in the competition with 410 runs scored over the course of eight matches with a strike rate of 66.55. Boon, who led Australia to their first trophy victory in 1987, performed wonderfully with the bat once more. He finished the competition as the fourth-leading run scorer with 368 runs and two tonnes in eight matches.
So, this was all about World Cup 1992. Also read, Hyderabad welcomes Pakistan Cricket Team for the ODI match.
