Hyderabad: The Pakistan Cricket Team, led by Babar Azam, is eyeing to continue their impressive T20 World Cup record and end the 15-year trophy drought since their victory in the 2009 T20 World Cup. With arguably the best bowling lineup of the tournament, Pakistan can fancy their chances to emerge triumphant in the ninth edition of the T20 World Cup.
With pacer Mohammed Amir and spin-bowling all-rounder Imad Wasim coming out of retirement, and already having the likes of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Haris Rauf, along with Shadab Khan, who can contribute with both bat and ball, Pakistan looks like a formidable contender to win the marquee event.
Captain Babar Azam will be leading the top order, and the presence of wicket-keeper batter Mohammed Rizwan, southpaw Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, and Azam Khan forms a strong batting lineup. So let's delve into their journey from the inaugural edition to the last T20 World Cup.
Finals
- 2009 T20 World Cup
While India fell flat in the Super Eights, Pakistan, who fell agonisingly short in 2007 losing to their arch-rivals, clinched the title in the 2009 T20 World Cup. Pakistan qualified for the Super Eight with a victory over the Netherlands after losing to England in the group stage. With a couple of wins in the Super Eight, the Younus Khan-led side entered the semi-finals where they beat formidable South Africa by seven runs thanks to an exceptional display from the bowlers.
The Sri Lankans were unbeaten throughout the tournament, but all-rounder Abdul Razzaq’s three-for coupled with Shahid Afridi’s (20/1 off 4 overs) economical spell helped Pakistan to restrict their opponents to a below-par target of 138/6 in the final. Pakistan comfortably chased down the target with all four top-order batters making contributions.
- 2007 T20 World Cup
Having played only four T20I games before the T20 World Cup, Pakistan were not the favourites to clinch the tournament. However, the likes of Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Mohammed Hafeez, and Misbah-ul-Haq pulled their team out of trouble despite losing to India in a bowl-out. They won against Scotland, Australia, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka in the group stage and then thrashed New Zealand in the semi-final to reach the finals.
In the final, Pakistan first restricted India to 157/5 with Umar Gul claiming three wickets off his four overs, increasing their chances to pull off a miracle. However, they kept losing wickets at regular intervals and found themselves reeling at 77/6 after 11.4 overs. All-rounder Yasir Arafat and pacer Sohail Tanvir’s crucial cameos with Misbah at the other end took Pakistan closer to the target. Men in Green needed six off the last four balls to lift the trophy, but Misbah failed to connect the scoop shot properly and ended up giving a sitter, albeit a high-pressure catch, to S Sreesanth, who made no mistake.
- 2022 T20 World Cup
In 2022, Pakistan missed out on an opportunity to clinch the title for the joint-most second time when Shaheen Shah Afridi left the field and didn’t bowl his vital 10 deliveries because of an injury he sustained in the 16th over. The left-arm pacer’s absence at the fag end cost them the final to England at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Australia.
After the shocking defeat against India at MCG, Men in Green decided to play with four seamers, which turned out to be a very good decision for them. Except for their disappointing one-run loss against minnows Zimbabwe, Pakistan’s batting unit complemented the bowling extremely well.
However, in the summit clash, England's bowlers put up a strong performance and restricted Pakistan to a below-par target of just 137 runs for 8 wickets in their 20 overs. Ben Stokes smashed a crucial half-century that led England to victory. They achieved the target in 19 overs with five wickets in hand, finishing at 138 for 5.
