Cricket is said to be a game of uncertainties. That is, what will happen when cannot be said. There is a team that takes this uncertainty to its extreme. Yes…we are talking about Pakistan.
When this team starts getting completely rejected in a big tournament, then sometimes luck makes a sudden comeback on the strength of hard work. A similar script was seen in this T20 World Cup as well.
Pakistan was almost out of the tournament after losing first to India and then to Zimbabwe. Luck turns from here and Pakistan reaches the semi-finals on sight. The team wins three matches in a row. On the other hand, a strong team like South Africa loses to the Netherlands and makes the way to the semi-finals easily for Pakistan by getting themselves out.
This is not the first time that Pakistan has made a comeback in this fashion. This has happened before as well.
The 1992 ODI World Cup victory
The 1992 World Cup was played in Australia. Under the captaincy of Imran Khan, Pakistan played a total of 8 matches in the group stage. In the first match, they lost by 10 wickets against West Indies. After this, the team won over Zimbabwe in the second match. The third match was against England. Pakistan’s team was all out for just 74 runs. The defeat was certain, but then the rain stopped the match. Pakistan got one point in focus.
However, the happiness of this one point did not last long and they lost to India and South Africa in the next two matches. That is, Pakistan had only one win and only 3 points in five matches.
It was assumed that Imran’s team would not reach the semi-finals, but after this Pakistan won 3 matches in a row and surprised everyone. Pakistan had reached the semi-finals with 9 points. Pakistan had the least points among the four teams that reached the semi-finals. PAK defeated title contenders New Zealand in the semi-finals and defeated England in the final to win the ODI World Cup title for the first time.
2009 T20 World Cup: Lost 2 out of 3 matches, then returned and title
After the defeat in the final of the 2007 World Cup, Pakistan made a comeback in 2009. Pakistan did not have a good start in the 2009 World Cup. In the first match, they lost against England. The second match was won by Pakistan which qualified for Super 8.
After this Pakistan got defeated by Sri Lanka. The only way for Pakistan to reach the semi-finals was to win the last two league matches. Pakistan has done this.
They first defeated Ireland and then New Zealand. Expectations from Pakistan were low in the semi-finals, as they faced table toppers and World Cup contenders in South Africa, but Pakistan defeated South Africa. After this, in the final at Lord’s ground, Pakistan defeated Sri Lanka by a huge margin of 8 wickets and won the World Cup trophy.