Coincidence Or 'Qudrat Ka Nizam': 7 Similarities Between 1992 And 2022 World Cup
With the T20 World Cup in its final stages, Pakistan and England are all set to clash against each other to become only the second team to lift the T20 World Cup multiple times. The final will be played on November 13th, where two tremendous sides will clash to provide a high-voltage competition.
Over the past few days ever since former Indian captain MS Dhoni relaunched 'Oreo' cookies in India, the parallels were being drawn between the 2011 World Cup and the 2022 T20 World Cup. However, as the tournament progressed, more prominent parallels have been formed between the 1992 and 2022 World Cup.
Here are 7 similarities between the 1992 World Cup and the 2022 World Cup.
#1. New Zealand defeated Australia in the opening match
New Zealand thrashed Australia by 89 runs in the 1st match of the Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup 2022. In the 1992 World Cup as well, the Kiwis defeated their neighbours by 37 runs in the 1st match. Moreover, New Zealand lost only one match each in the group stage in both World Cups, before getting eliminated in the semi-finals in both cases.
#2. India defeated Pakistan
Out of the only two matches India won in the 1992 World Cup, one of them was a 43-run win against its arch-rivals. In the 2022 T20 World Cup as well, India defeated Pakistan by 4 wickets in a last-ball thriller in their first match of the tournament.
#3. England lost against a lower-ranked Country
Although England qualified for the final in the 1992 World Cup, they lost a group match against Zimbabwe in the group stage. Zimbabwe was at the time an associate member of the ICC. In the 2022 World Cup, England were defeated by Ireland in the group stage. Interestingly, Zimbabwe's only win in the 1992 World Cup was against England while Ireland's only win in the 2022 World Cup Super 12 stage was against England. Moreover, both teams won while defending totals.
#4. Defending Champions Australia
In both World Cups, Australia were the defending champions as well as hosting the World Cup both times. Australia won the 1987 World Cup which was held in India. In 1992, Australia were the co-host while completely hosting the T20 World Cup 2022. Both times, Australia failed to make it to the semi-finals. Interestingly, the previous editions of both the World Cups (1987 and 2021) were hosted by India.
#5. Pakistan qualified for the semi-finals with the least points amongst the Final Four teams
After losing their first two matches in T20 World Cup 2022, against India and Zimbabwe, Pakistan bounced back as they defeated Netherlands, South Africa and Bangladesh to make it to the semi-finals. Notably, Australia failed to make it to the semi-finals with 7 points in Super 12, while Pakistan qualified with 6 points only. In 1992, Pakistan were the only semi-finalist with less than 10 points.
#6. Pakistan defeated New Zealand in the semi-finals
In both the 1992 and 2022 World Cup - Pakistan defeated the Black Caps in the semi-finals to make it to the finals both times. In 1992, Pakistan chased down 263 runs in 49 overs to beat New Zealand by 4 wickets. In 2022, Pakistan chased down 153 runs and went on to win the match by 7 wickets. While Pakistan had 6 balls remaining in the 1992 World Cup, in the 2022 World Cup they had 5 balls left when the match finished.
#7. Pakistan vs England final at MCG
Also Read: Cricket Tales
Pakistan and England were finalists in both World Cups. In 1992, England defeated South Africa to reach the finals while they defeated team India in the 2022 World Cup semi-finals to make it to the finals. In the final of the 1992 World Cup, Pakistan scored 249/6 in 50 overs and halted England to 227/10 in 49.2 overs to win the match by 22 runs to win their first and only ODI World Cup. What will happen in the finals will be unfolded next Sunday, whether these are just quirky coincidences or 'qudrat ka nizam'.