Thursday was not good for the Indian cricket fans as their side faced a humiliating defeat at the hands of England by 10 wickets even after scoring 168 runs. So now it is official that Pakistan will be taking on England in the final in the remake of the 1992 final of the world cup.
On Wednesday, celebrations ensued after the Pakistan cricket team’s impeccable performance at the T20 semi-final against New Zealand, paving its way to the final. Judging from the previous handovers to India and Zimbabwe, one would have thought that our inconsistent performance would have prevented us from going far.
The spectacular match required a steady momentum to chase the score set by New Zealand and openers Babar Azam and Muhammad Rizwan really laid the groundwork for the victory. Each secured half-centuries all the while enabling Pakistan to beat New Zealand by seven wickets, prompting roars of excitement from the crowd in Australia and the public here at home. For the first time since 2009, we have a shot at the title and our path toward it has been rocky at best.
The team frustrated many after its last-ball losses to India and Zimbabwe in the group matches and many lost faith that it would go far. Against all odds, the team toppled Netherlands, South Africa and Bangladesh to come face to face against New Zealand in the semi-final. If anything, this trajectory should be a lesson in all that we must improve and reassuring in the way that undoubtedly, we have the skill, expertise, desire and vigour needed to win one match after the next. It must all be channelled at the same time and at the same place.
For now, it seems as though we are set to recapture the spirit of the 1992 win against New Zealand as well. It launched us into the world cup final which marked our historic triumph. The hope is that the spirit will be recaptured and come November 13, we will outperform England to bring the coveted trophy home once more.
