Revision as of 23:38, 12 February 2015

1992

Venue: Australia and New Zealand

Uniform of players: A different coloured uniform for each eam

Colour of balls: white

Hours of play: day/night

Participating teams: Participating teams: Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies , Zimbabwe

South African participated for the first time.

Winners: Pakistan, defeating England in the finals.

India vs Pakistan

IANS | Feb 12, 2015 India vs Pakistan: World Cup history

1992 - India won by 43 runs

It was the first time that the two nations met at a World Cup match. India, buoyed by a young and emerging Sachin Tendulkar's fine unbeaten knock of 54 runs, posted 216 and bowled out Pakistan for 173 to register a convincing victory.

Inzamam-ul-Haq

Ayaz Memon India Today February 5, 2015 | World Cup highlights: When the greats got going

60 runs

37 balls.

Fours-7

Sixes- 1

At the start of the World Cup in 1991-92 when Imran Khan called Inzamam-ul-Haq the most exciting young batsman in the game, there were sniggers all around. But not for the first time, his gut instinct was proved right.

Until the semi-final against New Zealand though, Inzy had done little of note. New Zealand posted 262. By the time Inzamam walked out to bat at no. 6, the asking run rate had climbed to more than 8 per over. For the next hour there was mayhem as he made 60 off just 37 deliveries. By the time he was run out (a foretaste of what was to be a signature way of being dismissed throughout his career), Pakistan had more than covered the run rate, had not lost wickets, and could coast through to an improbable win.

How Pakistan won the 1992 World Cup

Raj Chengappa and Ayaz Memon | India Today June 15, 2013 REVEALED! How Pakistan won the 1992 World Cup

The 1992 World Cup is really the story of how a ragged Pakistani team, that was almost eliminated during the preliminary rounds, transformed itself into a champion side. How a strong captain, driven by deep-seated ambition and a noble mission, inspired his team to greater heights.

The Cup also rewrote how the one-day game would be played in the future. The big hitters came to the fore. Innovative and daring strategies became the norm-to success. Consistent performance rather than stray brilliance was the key. And the final spoils went to those who were willing to do or die for the team.

For India, despite having some of the most talented players in the world, the Cup turned out to be a disaster. Led by a mild captain, the team seemed to be constantly at odds with itself. This is the story of how Pakistan triumphed and why India failed.

Scene 1. Sydney. March 4. Inside the sparse dressing-room of the Sydney Cricket Ground, Imran Khan, the Pakistan captain, had never looked so dispirited. His team had just been beaten convincingly by the Indians and the way the Pakistanis had been playing in the Cup till that point made their chances of qualifying for the semi-finals look bleak. As Imran said: "We are just not getting our combination right. And it's going to be an uphill struggle for us."

Scene 2. Melbourne, March 25. Shouts of "Jeeve Jeeve (Long Live) Pakistan" emanated constantly from the Pakistan dressing-room. Javed Miandad could be seen dancing excitedly and slapping palms with Mushtaq Ahmed and Wasim Akram occasionally.

Jubilant Cup winnersImran, an indulgent smile on his face, swayed away from his jubilant colleagues and strode into the conference room to address some 200 media men from all over the world. He glanced amusedly at the two giant unopened champagne bottles - denied to them because of Islamic injunctions - that had been kept ready for an English victory.

And then said in his usual measured tones: " Today I asked the team to behave like a cornered tiger. To go out and fight. To snarl. And they responded magnificently."

If it was Kapil's Devils that took the cricketing world by storm in 1983, it was Imran's Tigers that snarled their way to one of the greatest cricketing coups in the modern era.

In the space of 14 heart-stopping days, where every match could have been sudden death for the team, Imran and his band of green warriors transformed themselves from a rag-tag, injury-stricken unit to an invincible fighting machine.

And under the surreal glare of floodlights, when they defeated England by 22 runs in a tense final at Melbourne, they earned the right to be called the world champions of limited-over cricket.

True, their meteoric rise to cricket's pinnacle of glory had more to it than just an amazing resurrection. There was a large slice of luck or what the Pakistanis call the "Allah factor".

For instance, a crucial match against England in the preliminary rounds was washed away by rain just when Pakistan seemed certain to lose. Their entry into the semifinals was also largely due to below par performances by Australia, West Indies and India.

The hype and hoopla went right up to the finalsBut to Pakistan goes the real credit of performing at their peak and withstanding intense pressure during crucial games while their three main rivals for the fourth spot floundered.

For, despite being almost out of the tournament, with three defeats, a tie and a pyrrhic victory against Zimbabwe, they played intelligent cricket to bamboozle former world champions Australia in a crucial encounter at Perth.

After the match, Imran said: "We were beginning to get our combination right and I told the boys that from now on let's go for a do-or-die effort."

It was around midway through the World Cup and it was the period when the teams and their captains began to, in some ways, rewrite the way one-day cricket was to be played. Big hitters like Mark Greatbatch, Brian Lara and Inzamam-ul-Haq were not afraid to give the bowling a charge and came up with stunning results.

With most teams being equal, it was a Cup that ensured that teams which grasped the basics of batting, bowling and fielding were more likely to succeed. As Deryck Murray, the West Indies team manager, observed: "Only those teams and captains who paid attention to detail in the six hours of play and showed absolute concentration, won matches."

With nine nations in the fray, teams that rapidly altered game strategies according to their opponents were the ones that recorded most successes.

Gooch flooring an Imran skier proved costly for England and gave Pakistan the edgeThus while West Indies played raggedly through the initial matches, against India they decided to stop giving away too many extras, to bowl a nagging length and attack the Indian bowlers from the word go. India on the other hand did not innovate and paid the penalty.

Strangely, Australia, that had seemed invincible before the Cup began, was on the wrong foot right through the Cup. Allan Border, the team's vocal captain, never seemed to stop shaking his curly head in bewilderment as the team crashed from one defeat to the next.

Said Border: "We looked jaded right through. We should have prepared much better for the Cup. Instead we went off the boil too early."

THE key to success was also as West Indies captain Richie Richardson points out:"Consistency in all departments. It was not just outstanding players but how they play as a team that really mattered."

While the top two teams, England and New Zealand, showed plenty of consistency, teams like West Indies, Australia and India were as erratic as Sydney's weather. That seemed to give Pakistan, which at one stage looked certain to be out of the Cup, a major chance to qualify.

But it was more than just the ineptitude of other teams that saw Pakistan claim the Cup. For what the game called for, apart from consistency, was an extraordinary captain: someone who knew when to use the element of surprise. Could adopt a variety of tactics. Had plenty of nerve and cunning.

Just refused to panic under pressure. And was able to inspire his team and lead it from the front. And in Imran they had one such outstanding example.

New-find Inzamam-ul-Haq saw Pakistan through with a 100-plus strike rateAs Asif Iqbal, a former Pakistani captain, said: He kept trying out new things, new combinations, new batting orders, though things initially were not going his way. In such situations, most skippers play safe but Imran was willing to dare."

Martin Crowe was Imran's only rival to such praise, but the Pakistani skipper had the edge and it was not just in experience. In the twilight of his career, Imran had been fired by a mission to build a hospital to treat cancer patients after his mother succumbed to the disease.

He needed to collect money, lots of it, and could get donations only if he stayed in the international limelight, shepherding his team. Also for him the Cup would be the crowning achievement of a brilliant career.

As Crowe said after Pakistan defeated New Zealand in two successive matches, the last in the semi-finals at Auckland: "The difference was Imran had something to strive for apart from the deep-seated ambition to win the World Cup. And his team mates had the desire to win."

Rarely has a single individual been able to inspire a team to such great heights. But Imran is an institution by himself. In Pakistan his word is law in first-class cricket. He handpicks his players and then backs them even through lean patches.

Inzamam is his find. So are Mushtaq, Aamir Sohail, Zahid Fazal, Aaquib Javed and Wasim Akram. In dressing-room discussions during the Cup his voice boomed over closed doors as he yelled at wayward players and goaded them to perform better.

Under Imran's fiery leadership, the volatile Pakistani team overnight became the hot favourites to win the Cup. Their strike bowlers, Wasim Akram and Aaquib Javed, were in full flow. And leg spinner Mushtaq produced the crafty edge. Their batting had depth despite Salim Malik's continued failure.

Rameez Raja was stroking the ball well. Despite being out of form, Javed Miandad used his vast experience and his doughty spirit to provide the solidity in the middle. And he inspired big hitters like new-find Inzamam to come up with some amazing feats. The team also started lifting its shoddy fielding.

Done in by the controversial rain rule, South Africa sadly bowed out of the Cup in the semisEngland, till then the most professional team in the tournament, found most of their players fall into the injured list as the Cup's gruelling pace began to take its toll.

South Africa, the only other team to match Pakistan's volatility, bowed out of the Cup in a controversial rain-affected semi-final against England. The storm over the rain rule, that gave undue advantage to the side batting first, broke out and left a pall of unpleasantness over the Cup.

By then Pakistan seemed unstoppable. They had begun playing like zealots who were willing to do or die. And the English showed no such fervour. The result: Pakistan are now world champions of one-day cricket for the next four years. Imran can have his cancer hospital. And perhaps a monument for himself in his home city of Lahore.

Wasim Akram on Pakistan’s triumph

We could feel a divine force was behind us

Wasim Akram India Today February 5, 2015 |

Wasim Akram was the Man of the Match in the 1992 World Cup final

As a side, we [Pakistan] were doing quite well in one-day cricket in the late1980s. We had won the Nehru Cup in 1989 and the Australasia Cup in 1990. We had the confidence that any top-six side has going into a World Cup. I remember (captain) Imran Khan took us to Australia three-four weeks before the World Cup.

We would do 10 laps of the MCG-we used to sprint-then I would bowl and field for two hours. Basically we would train for five-six hours every day. Imran wanted us to get supremely fit before the World Cup. That was the reason for all the hard work.

Before the start of the tournament we lost my strike partner and then the fastest bowler in the world, Waqar Younis. In the practice matches, Waqar complained of a back problem. It was later diagnosed as stress fracture of the back. Waqar and I had formed a very good partnership, so it was a big loss to me when he had to pull out of the tournament.

We lost the first couple of practice matches. But we did not lose hope. Then the tournament started with the match at the MCG and the West Indies were our first opponents. We got 200-odd, yet we lost the match. The second match was against Zimbabwe which was an easy win for us.

Then we went to Adelaide for the match that literally turned the tournament around for us. It was raining that day in Adelaide. The ball usually does not seam in Adelaide but that day it was, as we were bowled out for just 74. Adelaide is one of the driest cities in Australia, but that whole day it kept drizzling. We struggled a lot as a batting unit as England really tied us in knots with their accurate bowling. England's seam bowlers used the conditions very well. But still we got one point out of nowhere as rain washed out play and we felt relieved. Our captain kept saying from the start that we will win the World Cup. He seemed to have that confidence in us more than we did ourselves.

Since I was struggling to control the white ball, I was bowling too many wides and sometimes overstepping too. Before our match against Australia in Perth, I woke up to read the local newspaper and went to the sports page. I saw big screaming headlines which read something to the effect of 'Imran wants Wasim to bowl just quick, forget about no-balls and wide balls'. That worked like magic for me as I saw it as an opportunity to prove to my captain that I can deliver on his belief. From there on, my confidence went up. After the World Cup, when I spoke to Imran, he said that was done to get me pumped up. It did work wonders as I bowled with renewed vigour with the new ball and was really quick in the final few matches.

We were to play New Zealand in our last league match. Now, New Zealand were on a roll, having won seven of their previous league matches on the trot. Their eighth match was against us. This is where my confidence shot up further as I picked up four wickets including the likes of Andrew Jones and the very dangerous Martin Crowe. Rameez Raja was in top form in the tournament and he got his second hundred in that league match against New Zealand. We did not have much to chase down, but Rameez played a very cultured knock as we eased to a win.

Our confidence was now sky-high because we started believing in ourselves. We had to play New Zealand in the semi-finals and were now confident of beating them yet again. Just imagine, New Zealand had won seven of their eight league matches, lost just once-and that too to us!

We had the best wishes of the whole of Pakistan. It was the month of Ramzan and people were fasting and were up all night in Pakistan. They were praying for us, watching us as we moved into the semis. We could feel a divine force was behind us as we played the semi-final.

Interestingly, Inzy (Inzamam-ul-Haq) was throwing up a night before the semi-final and did not appear to be in a condition to play. But Imran insisted that Inzy should play despite his fever. What happened in the semi-final, we all know. Inzy just went berserk as he showed the full range of his strokes. We had a stiff target of 263 but Inzamam came at the right time and was well guided by the experienced Javed Miandad.

We now had to play the most experienced one-day side, England, in the final. They play so much one-day cricket in the county circuit and have so much experience because of that. But we knew that if we make it to the final, we can win the tournament. We had that kind of confidence.

We were warming up at the MCG before the final. In those days, we would get just a playing kit and tracksuit, nothing more. If we needed training gear and so on, we had to go out and buy it ourselves. I went and bought a T-shirt which said 'Just do it', Imran bought a T-shirt with a tiger on it. In the team talk before the final, Imran said we are cornered tigers. We were all young and had no idea what he meant. Then he said it in simple words: when a tiger is cornered, it attacks. That's what we need to do. Then it was easier to understand.

In the final, it was a brave decision by a subcontinental captain to bat first. Imran promoted himself to number three to control the innings. He just held one end up with Javed. They both batted sensibly, kept the scoreboard ticking and laid the foundation for big hitting at the end. That was the perfect thing for Inzy and myself because we just went out and smashed it. In the end we made 249.

We knew that we had a total that we could defend. England lost some early wickets but we had to contend with a sticky partnership between Neil Fairbrother and Allan Lamb. They were two very dangerous one-day players. In the second water break, Imran came to me and said, try putting your everything into it, get a bit of reverse swing and give me a two-over burst. I told the captain, no worries, I can do that, but I will try that with Lamb since Fairbrother is my team mate at Lancashire and knows all my tricks.

I told Imran I would bowl outswing to Lamb and get him to play and get him bowled. Imran said try around the wicket. That day I must have had the backing of god-when I bowled, the ball pitched on a length near the off-stump and he was castled. We celebrated like the World Cup was ours. The next ball to Chris Lewis was planned. I tried bowling a yorker because the batsman had assumed that I will bowl an inswinging delivery. I tried to bowl with reverse swing. I was just 24-25, and had the confidence to run in with pace. It was a dream come true, as I got Lewis with that delivery. You don't realise what you have when you play. But now, more than 10 years after retiring, I realise what I did that day.

When we finally won the World Cup, it took some time for us to realise the achievement. When Rameez took the catch it was an unbelievable moment. We did not sleep that night! It took me two days to realise what we had done. It was only when we landed in Lahore did the whole achievement sink in. The journey from Lahore airport to the hotel, which usually takes about 20 minutes, took us seven hours. We were taken on an open-top bus. It felt like the whole of Pakistan had descended on the city.

The same thing happened in Karachi, Pindi (Rawalpindi), Peshawar. I had never seen anything like that in my entire career. That feeling of being a champion was something different. The whole country was happy and united in celebrating with us.

That tournament in 1992 was also exciting because of the fact that we were playing in coloured clothing with two new white balls. We played South Africa for the first time in the tournament. It was an eye-opener. Who can forget that Jonty (Rhodes) run out of Inzy! That was an iconic picture that we can never forget. They were out of international cricket for 21 years but still made it to the semi-final. It was a dream return to international cricket for them. What I remember most about South Africa is their fielding, which was phenomenal.

Fascinating facts about World Cups

Author: MS Ramakrishnan, Bangalore, Thu, Jan 22 2015 CricBuzz 1 <>CricBuzz 2 <>CricBuzz 3 <>CricBuzz 4 <>CricBuzz 5

1988: A captain who returned from retirement to win a World Cup Pakistan's World Cup winning captain Imran Khan returned to international cricket in 1988 after announcing his retirement the previous year. It was at the request of the Pakistani President, General Zia-Ul-Haq, that the all-rounder represented the country again. Eventually, his inspirational captaincy gave Pakistan their first World Cup.

1992: Inspirational Imran asks Inzi to forget fever and play the semifinal After suffering from high fever on the night before Pakistan's 1992 World Cup semifinal against New Zealand, Inzamam-ul-Haq told captain Imran Khan that he was not 100% sure of playing the game. However, Imran simply asked him to think about playing the semifinal and nothing else. Inzamam played the match and smashed a stunning 37-ball 60 and was adjudged the Man of the Match.

1992: Spinners can't take the new ball? In the 1992 World Cup, Dipak Patel proved that spinners could be a surprise weapon with the new ball. Opening the bowling, the Kenyan-born off-spinner, who played for Worcestershire, before moving to New Zealand, was the most economical bowler in the tournament (for a minimum of 15 overs bowled). His figures in the tournament read: 79-8-245-8 at an economy rate of 3.10.

See also

World Cup (cricket): history <>World Cup (cricket): 1975 <>World Cup (cricket): 1979 <>World Cup (cricket): 1983 <>World Cup (cricket): 1987 <>World Cup (cricket): 1992 <>World Cup (cricket): 1996 <>World Cup (cricket): 1999 <>World Cup (cricket): 2003 <>World Cup (cricket): 2007 <>World Cup (cricket): 2011 <>World Cup (cricket): 2015