On The Brink

Magnificent photo. You can see how pumped up Zafar Gohar and team are. That’s what it means to Zafar Gohar to be playing in a World Cup final. Very few get the chance to play in a World Cup final. Very few get the chance to play in a World Cup final at any capacity. He may never get to play in the official 50 over World Cup, let alone play in the final of one. For some of the players it will be the only ICC tournament final they play in and the last World Cup match they play in at any level. They have the biggest day of their lives ahead of them.

Zafar Gohar, Imam ul Haq, Sami Aslam, Zia ul Haq and others are playing the last under-19 international match of their careers and they are hoping to top it off with a World Cup triumph, a first since 2006.

They won tri nations in England last year

They won tri nations in UAE last year

They reached the Asia Cup final this year

They beat Afghanistan in a series this year

A World Cup win would be the icing on the cake

Pakistan in ICC men’s tournaments since 2007 WT20

One day cricket was predominantly designed for multinational championships. One day cricket is about building for the major events and doing well at them. Here is Pakistan’s record at ICC events since the inaugural World T20 in South Africa. This is a homeless team, yet a team which finds a way of reaching the business end of international competitions. 

2007 World T20 = Finalists 
2008 Under-19 World Cup = Semi-finalists
2009 World T20 = Winners
2009 Champions Trophy = Semi-finalists
2010 Under-19 World Cup = Finalists
2010 World T20 = Semi-finalists
2011 World Cup = Semi-finalists 
2012 Under-19 World Cup = Quarter Finalists (1 wicket loss)
2012 World T20 = Semi-finalists

2013 Champions Trophy = First round

2014 Under-19 World Cup = At least beaten finalists

4 World T20s

4 Under-19 World Cups

2 Champions Trophies

1 World Cup

9 of the last 11 ICC events Pakistan have reached the semi-final stage. They have reached 4 finals. Will they win their first final since the 2009 ICC World T20?