Pakistan achieved their third win of the World Cup in seven matches with 5 balls to spare as they ended New Zealand’s unbeaten run in the tournament. The year was 1992.
27 years later, it’s deja vu! At the 2019 ICC World Cup, Pakistan beat an undefeated New Zealand to claim their third victory of the tournament in their seventh game with five balls to spare, according to a report in news portal Scroll.in.
#There’s More To It
Pakistan’s results in the ongoing World Cup have followed the exact same order as that of the 1992 World Cup that the Imran Khan-led Pakistan went on to win by beating England in the final. It seems ridiculous to suggest it will happen again, but would you bet against Pakistan?
Even in cricketing context, two new white balls were used in the 1992 World Cup, one at each end. The same pattern is been followed in 2019.
After beating New Zealand on Wednesday, Pakistan have gone from strugglers to contenders in space of 10 days, just like they did in 1992 and also in 2017, when they won the ICC Champions Trophy. Can anyone stop Pakistan now?
#End Word
Pakistan skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed, however, played down parallels with the 1992 triumph. He said, “When the World Cup starts, people think that way. But we’re not thinking like that. Our focus is the next match. We are very confident and hopefully we’ll do well.”
