ISLAMABAD – Pakistani cricket fans are celebrating the silver jubilee of 1992 World Cup today (Saturday) as the historic day marks the completion of 25 years since Pakistan overpowered international cricketing giants and became the world champions for the first time.
Pakistan team, that was on verge of elimination from the tournament initially ended up as world champions after whimsical performance.
A rain during the group match proved to be the silver lining for green shirts as it saved them from getting knocked out in the initial stage.
It was the historic day of March 25, 1992 when Pakistan brushed aside England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) by 22 runs with the help of skipper Imran Khan’s spectacular innings of 72 runs although he was injured at that time.
Pakistan set England the target of 250 runs to claim the world title, but spinner Mushtaq Ahmed and pacer Wasim Akram trapped the English batting lineup and made the target difficult for the inventors of the game.
Have a look at winning moments of 1992 world cup final.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xebUhHKDFvU
England team faced much difficulty in tackling Pakistani bowling lineup and stumbled despite being declared favourite by sports analysts.
Mushtaq sent three batsmen to pavilion for 41 runs and Wasim Akram arguably delivered two of the best balls in the history of World Cups taking match-turning wickets of Allan Lamb and Chris Lewis. The two lethal in-swingers happened to be the final nails in the coffin for England.
Akram also ended up with three wickets and was declared man of the match for his game-changing spell. After being crowned champions, skipper Imran Khan announced retirement from cricket as he needed to invest more time for his Shaukat Khanum hospital.
Wasim Akram, today, took to Twitter and expressed his feelings over this historic day and said this day does not only hold significance in his career, but also in the history of Pakistan cricket.
https://twitter.com/wasimakramlive/status/845498646225473536
