Pakistan Look to Follow in the Footsteps of the Class of 1992

Pakistan fans could be forgiven for wondering if history is repeating itself at the World Cup.

The last time the event was held in Australia and New Zealand, back in 1992, Imran Khan’s side recovered from a shocking start to upset the odds and lift the trophy.

That successful Pakistan team relied on a wise old head in Javed Miandad to hold the batting unit together, while a left-arm paceman by the name of Wasim Akram was the spearhead of their attack. 

Now, 23 years later, it is easy to draw some parallels between the class of '92 and the current Pakistan squad.

While the boys of 2015 did not struggle quite as badly early on, back-to-back defeats to begin their campaign in Group B left them will little wiggle room.

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Captain Misbah-ul-Haq has been doing his best impression of Javed to date, at least in terms of scoring runs. He has 277 to his name, hitting four half-centuries in five innings.

Wahab Riaz, meanwhile, finds himself playing the role of Wasim. 

Although his economy rate might be slightly higher than he would like (5.51), left-armer Wahab has managed to claim 11 wickets already in the tournament. 

Whether this current generation can go on and be crowned champions remains to be seen. The batting looks brittle even with the consistent Misbah, while dropped catches have hampered the bowlers.

Still, Pakistan fans must now be more optimistic than they were after the opening two games.

Khan’s side did not find their best form in 1992 until they were almost sat in the departures lounge waiting to board their flight home. 

Indeed, had it not been for rain in the group game against England, when they had been bowled out for just 74 by a side they would go on to beat in the final, they would not have reached the last four.

STEVE HOLLAND/Associated Press

Misbah’s bunch do not yet need such good fortune to progress, though there is still work to do if they are to make it through to the knockout stages.

They currently sit in third place in Group B. It is likely they will need a victory over Ireland in their final round-robin match, with qualification rivals West Indies facing United Arab Emirates on the same day.

That is all they could have hoped for after being badly beaten by rivals India and then West Indies.

They eventually opened their account with a rather nervy win over Zimbabwe and, despite the final margin of victory suggesting it was a one-sided contest, were far from convincing in beating United Arab Emirates.

However, out of nowhere, Pakistan produced a performance against South Africa in Auckland, New Zealand.

The recalled Sarfraz Ahmed, inexplicably overlooked for the opening four matches, took his chance at the top of the order, making a run-a-ball 49 in a subpar total of 222.

The wicketkeeper-batsman also played a crucial role with the gloves, taking six catches. Sarfraz brings a sense of calm behind the stumps, something that was missing when Umar Akmal was attempting to do the job (emphasis there on "attempting").

Yet the most impressive part of Pakistan’s performance against the Proteas was their bowling.

Wahab—a  burly bowler capable of working up serious speed—picked up three wickets, as too did fellow left-armers Mohammad Irfan and Rahat Ali.

Chasing a target of 232 due to a Duckworth-Lewis adjustment following rain, the Proteas slipped from 67 for one to 138 for seven. 

Captain AB de Villiers did his best to keep South Africa afloat, making 77 from 58 deliveries, yet not even the star batsman, who at times seems capable of superhuman feats on a cricket field, could save the day.

Khan demanded his team play like "cornered tigers" in 1992, even going so far as to wear a T-shirt at the toss with the animal on it.

It was later revealed that the item of clothing was actually regularly donned by Khan, as Tom Hussain discovered in his excellent interview with Zahid Fazal, Pakistan’s 12th man in the final, in The National.

There has been no need for Misbah to wear anything to get his players fired up this year—Pakistan's tigers of 2015 are suddenly purring at just the right time.

Their campaign now gathering momentum, they will be a dangerous opponent if they do go on and reach the quarter-finals.

Before then, however, they must see off an Irish side who will hope for a repeat of their shock World Cup triumph over the same opponents in 2007.

That is a piece of history Pakistan will not want to see repeated.

All statistics used in the story were provided by ESPN Cricinfo.