The Pakistan cricket team is the national cricket team of Pakistan. (PCB). Pakistan is a full member of the International Cricket Council, and thus participates in Test, ODI and Twenty20 International cricket matches.
Pakistan have played 360 Test matches, with winning 110, losing 100 and drawing 150. The team has the 3rd-best win/loss ratio in Test cricket of 1.10, and the 4th-best overall win percentage of 30.16%.[1] Pakistan was given Test status on 28 July 1952, following a recommendation by India, and made its Test debut against India at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi, in October 1952, with India winning by an innings and 70 runs.[2] Previously, Pakistani cricketers had competed as a part of the Indian national team before the partition of India.
Pakistan have played 752 ODIs, winning 404, losing 326, tying 6 and with 16 ending in no-result.[3] Pakistan were the1992 World Cup champions, and also came runners-up in the 1999 tournament. Pakistan, in conjunction with other countries on the Subcontinent, have hosted the 1987 & 1996, with the 1996 final being hosted at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. The team has also played 48 Twenty20 Internationals, the most of any team, winning 29, losing 18 and tying1.[4] Pakistan won the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 and came runners-up in the inaugural tournament in 2007.
History
Following the Partition of India in 1947 and the establishment of the separate province of Pakistan, cricket in the country developed steadily and Pakistan was givenTest match status at a meeting of the Imperial Cricket Conference at Lord's Cricket Ground in England on 28 July 1952 following recommendation by India,[5] which, being the successor state of the British Raj, did not have to go through such a process. The first captain of the Pakistan national cricket team was Abdul Kardar.
Pakistan’s first Test match was played in Delhi in October 1952 as part of a five Test series which India won 2–1. Pakistan made their first tour of England in 1954 and drew the series 1–1 after a memorable victory at The Oval in which fast bowler Fazal Mahmood took 12 wickets. Pakistan’s first home Test match was in Dacca in January 1955 against India, after which four more Test matches were played in Bahawalpur, Lahore, Peshawar and Karachi (all five matches in the series were drawn, the first such occurrence in test history[6]).
The team is considered a strong but unpredictable team. Traditionally Pakistani cricket has been filled with players of great talent but limited discipline, making them a team which could play inspirational cricket one day and then perform less than ordinarily another day. Over the years, competitions between India and Pakistan have always been emotionally charged and provide for intriguing contests, as talented teams and players from both sides of the border elevate their game to new levels to produce high-quality cricket. Pakistani contest with India in the Cricket World Cup have seen packed stadiums and elevated atmospheres no matter where the World Cup has been held.
1992 Cricket World Cup
At the 1992 World Cup Semi Final, having won the toss, New Zealand chose to bat first and ended with a total of 262 runs. Pakistan batted conservatively yet lost wickets at regular intervals. With the departure of Imran Khan and Saleem Malik shortly thereafter, Pakistan still required 115 runs at a rate of 7.67 runs per over with veteran Javed Miandad being the only known batsman remaining at the crease. A young Inzamam-ul-Haq, who had just turned 22 and was not a well-known player at the time, burst onto the international stage with a match-winning 60 off 37 balls. Once Inzamam got out, Pakistan required 36 runs from 30 balls, which wicketkeeper Moin Khan ended with a towering six over long off, followed by the winning boundary to midwicket. The match is seen as the emergence of Inzamam onto the international stage.[9][10][11]
The 1992 Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand marked Pakistan's first World Cup victory. It is remembered for the comeback Pakistan made after losing key players such as Waqar Younis and Saeed Anwarand being led by an injured captain in Imran Khan. Pakistan lost 4 of their first 5 matches and were nearly eliminated in the first round of the tournament after being bowled out for 74 runs against England, until the match was declared as a "no result" due to rain. Imran Khan famously told the team to play as "cornered tigers", after which Pakistan won five successive matches, including, most famously, the semi-final against hosts New Zealand and the final against England.[12]
