Stones Left Unturned by Pakistan Cricket Team

Pakistan started its cricket back in October 1952 when a team led by Abdul Hafeez Kardar faced India in their first test at Delhi. Since then, Pakistan has made a name for themselves in world cricket and have won all of the major ICC trophies which include the 50-over World Cup under Imran Khan in 1992, 20-over World Cup under Younis Khan in 2009 and most recently, the ICC Champions Trophy in 2017 under the leadership of Sarfraz Ahmed.


Members of the Pakistan's first Cricket team.

This team has also performed well in regional tournaments such as winning the Asia Cup in 2000 and 2012 and the Asian Test Championship in 1998/99. Despite the PCB's jersey sworn with star-badges of every major trophy, there are some hills that are yet to be conquered by the 'Men in Green' discussed below:

Test Series Win in Australia

Australia has been an uncharted territory for Pakistan in Test cricket where they have won only four of their thirty-five test matches. Off these 35 test matches, Pakistan tasted defeat in 24 test matches and drew 7.

The closest that they have come to win a test series in Australia was when under Majid Khan in 1979, they won the first game of the two-match series by 71 runs. Australia comfortably bounced back in the second test to draw the series 1-1.

Test Series Win in South Africa

Pakistan's record in test matches in South Africa is drearily dull. They have featured in five test series in South Africa including the one-match series in 1995 and have lost all. Off the 12 matches they have played in South Africa, they have secured a win in only two, tasted defeat in nine and managed a draw in one.

Their best show in South Africa was in 1998 when they won the second test match of the series comfortably after settling for a draw in the first test. Injuries and internal differences between the team members caused the team to under-perform in the third test which South Africa won. Hence, an opportunity was lost to beat South Africa at their home turf.

Twenty-20 Series Win in India

Pakistan vs India is the contest that every cricket fan wants to watch. Given their history, both teams go out of their skin to outsmart the opposition. Both teams have met each other once in a bilateral T20I series in 2012 which ended as a 1-1 draw.

The current political tension between the two nations suggest that Pakistan might have to wait for a few more years to win its first twenty-20 series in India.

Twenty-20 Series Win in Australia

Likewise test matches, Pakistan is yet to win a T20 series in Australia. They only time they have played a bilateral T20 series in Autralia was a one-off match back in February 2010 which Australia won after a close encounter.

A World Cup win against India

"We (South Africa) have never reached the final ... It's not a single factor. Why Pakistan is not able to beat India (in World Cups) is a billion dollar question," said South African legend Jonty Rhodes after Pakistan's 6th straight defeat against India in ICC World Cup 2015.

India celebrate another WC win, the ICC World T20 2007, against Pakistan.
The two teams first met in a World Cup in 1992 when India defeated the arch-rivals by 43 runs at Sydney. Pakistan suffered the same feat in 1996, 2003, 2011 and most recently the 2015 World Cup. The situation is similar for Pakistan in T20 World Cups they have lost all five of their matches. One of the matches in 2007, which ended in a tie, was decided on a bowl-out.

India-Pakistan Rivalry in Major ICC Tournaments
Tournament
Matches
India
Pakistan
ICC World Cup
6
6
0
ICC World Twenty-20
5
5
0
ICC Champions Trophy
5
3
2

A 50-over World Cup win against Bangladesh
Believe it or not, Pakistan is yet to defeat Bangladesh in a 50-over World Cup game. The two teams have met only once in a 50-over World Cup in 1999 which Bangladesh won by 62 runs.

About the Author: Israr Ahmed Hashmi is a freelance cricket writer and statistician. He has been featured numerously on Cricingif, Cricket World, Crictracker and the Express Tribune Blogs. You can follow his work here.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Shahid Afridi - In Records

Image
No one in this world would have known that a boy born on March 1, 1980 in Khyber Agency,  Federally Administrated Tribal Areas of Pakistan will grow up to be cricket's greatest superstar. Selected to bowl leg-spins, Shahid Khan Afridi in his career's 2nd international appearance smashed a 37-ball 100 against Sri Lanka in 1996 that remained a world record for Fastest Century in ODI Cricket for 18 record years and that 16 year old boy still holds that record of Youngest to score a ODI Century . Shahid Afridi's signature style of celebration Now after 18 years of great service to the Pakistan Cricket fraternity, Shahid Afridi wants to retire from ODIs after the World Cup in February-March 2015. When we look back at his career, there is a long list of matches he won us single-handedly, a long list of little but important contributions and an even long list of records that he made or broke during his adrenaline-filled career. I have managed to get a handful of records fr
Read more

The story of Masjid-al-Aqsa and its importance to Muslims

Image
Israeli Conspiracy to FAKE Masjid-al-Aqsa Israel's plan is to make everyone believe that the Dome of the Rock is Masjid Al-Aqsa, this advertising has been running for over 70 years, and it worked. Israel is trying hard to make Muslims believe that Dome of Rock is THE Masjid-al-Aqsa. Whenever Mosque Al-Aqsa is mentioned in the media, it shows the picture of Mosque (Dome of the Rock). Aim of the Plan: When they destroy Masjid Al-Aqsa, no one will recognize anything, except for the one's that know the difference. The process of destroying Masjid Al-Aqsa has started already. Many Muslims and Non-Muslims publish the incorrect picture of Masjid Al-Aqsa out of ignorance. What is worse than this is that many Muslims today, display the picture of the Dome of the Rock in their homes and offices, as it were Mosque Al-Aqsa. The real tragedy is that generations of Muslim children (as well as many adults) around the world, are unable to differentiate between
Read more

Four Facts Pakistanis Don't Know about their Independence Day

Image
The world’s first Islamic Republic is about to turn 68. Along with the younger ones, the teens and the elder ones are passionate too to celebrate the Independence Day with national zeal and gusto. Parents and Grand-parents would tell stories of the partition, real life scenes and the friends and family they lost during the partition but there are some facts, true, that may not accepted by my fellow Pakistanis with open arms but still, they are true.  14 August is celebrated as the Independence Day of Pakistan - is it really? Here are the four facts most Pakistanis don't know about the Independence Day: 1. The Original Partition Schedule The original partition was scheduled to take place in June 1948 but on March 30, 1947 Muhammad Ali Jinnah suddenly collapsed after attending a session of Muslim League meeting. He was rushed to Beach Candy Hospital and was diagnosed with TB. Dr Patel, his personal physician, admitted that the patient's timely arrival was the only
Read more