When Pakistan’s cricket team won the World Cup for the first and only time in 1992, their triumph was, famously, fashioned from adversity. Imran Khan’s team had begun that tournament in horrid form, only to turn around their fortunes.
Only two weeks ago, Pakistan were coming to terms with a humiliating loss to India in their opening game of the ICC Champions Trophy in England. Outplayed and out of sorts, Pakistan looked like a side unable to adapt to the demands of modern limited overs cricket. How wrong that assessment now seems after their stunning victory against the same opponents in the tournament’s final.
As the team’s enforced home away from home since 2009, the UAE is acutely aware of Pakistan’s ability to upset expectations and win big games. What we also now know is that this team has reserved itself a special place in history, just as Khan’s class of 1992 grabbed theirs.
