On March 25th, exactly 25 years ago in 1992, the Pakistan cricket team enthralled their fans by creating a history when they lifted the maiden World Cup Trophy under the tutelage of Imran Khan against England at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
The grand finale was witnessed by over 87, 000 spectators who witnessed the competitive cricket from both the teams before Men in Green had the last laugh with superb fightback with the ball when they beat Englishmen by 22 runs.
The former wicket-keeper batsman Moin Khan has also reminisced about the World Cup victory by calling it as the sweet moment for the cricket of Pakistan after they were struggling in the first four matches when they had only three points in an account, according to Moin.
“At one point, we were almost out of the tournament. We had played four matches and had only bagged three points,” Moin told Dawn.com.
Moin has expressed it was the sheer joy of winning the coveted trophy as it (Pakistan) had a quest of doing wonders when the all-round prodigy in the form of Imran lived up to his billing.
“It was a great victory for Pakistan, the biggest win in Pakistan’s cricket history. It was the ultimate achievement for Pakistan cricket,” Moin revealed.
The 45-year-old Moin praised the efforts of former Pakistan skipper Imran, who had gelled the young team – to script the remarkable performance for the cricket of Pakistan.
“There was no apparent hope of winning (the tournament) but Imran Bhai’s [Khan] leadership and the combination of seniors was a great help for each (young) player who was playing his first World Cup or touring Australia for the first time,” Moin remarked.
Pakistan had five successive wins in their kitty after Imran Khan, regrouped his side by boosting their morale with his inspirational speech by asking them to emulate ‘cornered tigers’.
The all-round performance from legendary bowler Wasim Akram earned him the Man of the Match award.
In the 35th over of the game, when England was chasing the target of 250, Akram changed the scenario of the game when he picked the wickets of Allan Lamb and Chris Lewis on consecutive deliveries.
The left-handed batsman Akram further scored crucial 33 runs in 18 balls which included four boundaries at the average of 183.33.
Imran Khan scored 72 off 110 followed by Javed Maindad’s 58 off 98 and Inzamam-Ul-Haq’s 42 off 35 balls at the strike rate of 120.
At one stage Pakistan was struggling at 24 for two before Javed Miandad and Imran Khan put on 139 on board for the third wicket.
Imran, who enjoyed his leadership, was the highest scorer in the final with 72 off 110 balls before claiming the last wicket of Richard Keith Illingworth, who is now serving as the umpire in International.
However, it was the then batting mainstay of Pakistan Javed Miandad, who had smashed seven half-centuries out of ten games – to play the vital role in the triumph.
Both Amir Sohail (4 off 19 balls) and Ramiz Raja (8 off 26 balls) were bagged by fast bowler Derek Pringle.
Akram bowled 10 overs in which he had bagged three wickets by giving away 49 runs.
For England, the only player crossed the 50-run mark was Neil Fairbrother, who scored 62 off 70 balls.
On the other hand, the leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmad claimed three wickets by conceding 41 runs in his quota of 10 overs as Graham Gooch led side England was bundled out for 227 in 49.2 overs.
