From 1992 to 2022: Same opponents, same venue and World Cup final

Pakistan’s roller-coaster journey in the T20 World Cup in Australia has evoked the memories of the most historic occasion for Pakistan cricket, when Imran Khan’s cornered tigers lifted the first-ever ODI World Cup trophy for the country against all the odds and became a symbol of resilience.

Pakistan will be again looking to replicate their first World Cup triumph against the same opponent England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 1992, when they came from the clouds to qualify for the playoffs by a single point from a washout, beat New Zealand in their semi-final, and toppled England in the final of the 50-over tournament.

There are more uncanny similarities to Pakistan’s journey to the World Cup final in 1992 and the Twenty20 World Cup 2022 and it all started last year in 2021.

Defeated by Australia in previous WC semis

Before the 1992 World Cup, the semi-final of the 1987 World Cup was played at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Pakistan, in which Australia defeated Pakistan by 18 runs.

Similarly, before T20 World Cup 2022, Pakistan had to face defeat against Australia in the semi-final of 2021, in which Australia defeated Pakistan by 5 wickets.

Defeated at same ground in first matches of tournament

Pakistan’s first match was against West Indies in the 1992 World Cup and West Indies defeated Green Shirts by 10 wickets at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

In the opening match of the T20 World Cup 2022, the Pakistani team was also defeated by India at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

Defeated by India

India defeated Pakistan by 43 runs at the Sydney Cricket Ground in 1992 World Cup, while in 2022, India also defeated Pakistan by 4 wickets.

Three consecutive victories

Another thing that has been similar in both the World Cups so far is the Pakistan team’s three consecutive victories in the Super 12 stage.

Defeating New Zealand in Semi-finals

In 1992, New Zealand was the side that topped the points table and played semi-final against fourth-placed Pakistan where their high flying run came to a halt.

In 2022, New Zealand topped their group as well and were pitted against Pakistan, the second—placed team in their group. Pakistan once again beat New Zealand to reach the final.

Pakistan vs England final:

In 1992, Pakistan played England in the final and became the eventual winners.

Pakistan will face England again in the final same as it was in 1992 World Cup on the same venue Melbourne Cricket Ground.

With so many similarities already in place, it is most likely that history will repeat itself once again and Pakistan would lift the World Cup once again.