The 1992 World Cup was the first time the tournament took place after five years instead of four. India, who won the Cricket World Cup in 1983, hosted the 1987 edition of the tournament. Continuing the tradition, the venue of the World Cup was shifted to Australia and New Zealand for the 1992 edition. This was the first edition of the tournament that was held in the Southern Hemisphere and was also the first time that South Africa participated.

In continuation to ‘A Countdown to World Cup’ series, today we will take a look at how underdogs Pakistan beat England to claim their first World Cup title.

The World Cup of 1992

The Cricket World Cup 1992 (Benson & Hedges World Cup 1992) was that edition of the World Cup where many things happened for the first time, one of them being the inclusion of Colorful kits instead of whites, and white balls instead of red cherries. The Championship took place between 22 February 1992 to 25 March 1992 in the Oceanic countries of Australia and New Zealand. New Zealand, England, South Africa, and Pakistan qualified for the semi-finals.

Format

There was a certain change in the format of the championship, rather than dividing eight teams into two groups of four, a round-robin format was adopted for nine teams playing. This meant that all teams played against every team, and the top four would qualify for the semis. 

Semi-Finals

In the first semi-final, Pakistan faced New Zealand. NZ, who were favorites to win the match and secure a place in the Final, elected to bat first. A 100-run partnership between captain Martin Crowe and Ken Rutherford accelerated New Zealand to 262 runs, setting a massive 263-run target. New Zealand captain, Martin Crowe got injured while he got out in the first Innings. John Wright was selected as the stand-in captain and this proved to be a mistake. Pakistan was off to an okayish start, and a couple of quick wickets brought Inzamam-ul-Haq to the crease. The young right-hander smashed 60 runs off 37 balls, taking victory away from the Black Caps. Pakistan accelerated to the finals.

In the second semi-final, England faced South Africa. A match rather remembered for the controversial rule, was played at the famous SCG. England batting first, scored 252/6 because of a masterful innings from Graeme Hick, who was later awarded the Man of the Match for his 83 off 90. South Africa came in to bat and was off to a good start and was on their way to chase the target. The match was equally spaced, when SA required 22 runs off 13 balls, till the rain interrupted. With the help of the most productive overs method, the target was revised to 22 off a single delivery, making the match one-sided. The controversial system was then replaced by the DLS, after the World Cup in Australia. England qualified for the Final against Pakistan.

Final

An in-form English team took on Pakistan, in the World Cup Final of 1992. Pakistan batted first and lost two early ones. Imran Khan, who was playing his last match, partnered along with Javed Miandad to rebuild the innings. The two batters batted for approximately 31 overs and scored 139 runs. Inzamam and Wasim Akram also joined the party and brought Pakistan to 249 runs. England chasing a 250-run target, fell prey to Wasim Akram’s swing and pace. Akram, along with Javed and Mushtaq bundled out England 227. Making the Men-in-Green, World Champions for the first time. This was the Dream tale of Pakistan’s road to victory, and how it rose from the bottom to become the Champions of the world.

Statistics

Top Run Scorers 

Top Wicket Takers