Author: tahirhosting002@gmail.com

On 25 March 1992, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Imran Khan lifted the World Cup. It remains the most famous day in Pakistan’s cricket history, and one of the great comebacks in any sport. Five weeks earlier, almost nobody gave Pakistan a chance.

A terrible start

The tournament in Australia and New Zealand was a single round-robin, with the top four reaching the semi-finals. Pakistan won just one of their first five games. Imran was carrying a shoulder injury, and fast bowler Waqar Younis had been ruled out of the tournament with a back injury before it began.

Against England in Adelaide, Pakistan were bowled out for just 74. Defeat looked certain, but rain arrived and the match was abandoned. The single point Pakistan earned that day would prove decisive.

“Fight like cornered tigers”

Imran told his players to fight like cornered tigers, and the team turned around. They won their last four group games, including victories over Australia and unbeaten New Zealand, and squeezed into the semi-finals on 9 points, one ahead of Australia.

Inzamam’s semi-final

In the semi-final at Auckland, New Zealand made 262 and Pakistan were falling behind the rate. A 22-year-old Inzamam-ul-Haq, struggling for form all tournament, came in and smashed 60 off 37 balls. Moin Khan finished the job, and Pakistan won by four wickets.

The final

Against England at the MCG, Pakistan slipped to 24 for 2 before Imran (72) and Javed Miandad (58) rebuilt. Inzamam and Wasim Akram then attacked late on, and Pakistan reached 249 for 6.

England were fighting back at 141 for 4 when Imran threw the ball to Wasim. In consecutive deliveries he bowled Allan Lamb and Chris Lewis, two of the most famous balls in the history of the game. England were all out for 227. Pakistan won by 22 runs, and Wasim was named Player of the Match for his 33 and 3 for 49.

The legacy

• Pakistan’s first and only men’s 50-over World Cup title.
• Imran, 39, took the final wicket himself and retired from international cricket soon after.
• It launched the careers of Inzamam and Wasim as world stars, and the cornered tigers became the defining image of Pakistan cricket.

Final scorecard summary

Team	Score	Key performers
Pakistan	249/6 (50 ov)	Imran Khan 72, Javed Miandad 58, Inzamam-ul-Haq 42, Wasim Akram 33
England	227 (49.2 ov)	Wasim Akram 3/49, Mushtaq Ahmed 3/41

Result: Pakistan won by 22 runs.

Nisshin, Japan · 22 September 2026 — Pakistan’s women are back on the Asian Games podium. They beat Bangladesh by 31 runs in the bronze-medal match to win their first Asian Games medal since 2014.

Recovery from 67 for 5

Pakistan batted first and openers Shawaal Zulfiqar and Gull Feroza put on 46, with Feroza hitting 31 off 23 balls. A middle-order collapse followed, leaving Pakistan 67 for 5, before captain Fatima Sana and Aliya Riaz rebuilt. Sana’s 45 off 30 balls lifted Pakistan to 145 for 8.

Umm-e-Hani’s spell seals it

Off-spinner Umm-e-Hani took 3 for 10 in her four overs, and Bangladesh never got close, finishing on 114 for 7.

Why it matters

Pakistan won gold in women’s cricket at the 2010 and 2014 Asian Games. When cricket returned in Hangzhou in 2023, they lost the bronze match to Bangladesh and finished fourth. This result reverses that defeat and caps a campaign that started with a nervy three-wicket win over Thailand in a rain-shortened quarter-final.

It is also a welcome lift after a disappointing Women’s Asia Cup, where Pakistan went out to Sri Lanka in the semi-finals.

Scorecard summary

• Pakistan: 145/8 in 20 overs (Fatima Sana 45 off 30, Gull Feroza 31 off 23)
• Bangladesh: 114/7 in 20 overs (Umm-e-Hani 3/10)
• Result: Pakistan won by 31 runs and took the bronze medal

Pakistan’s home season begins this week as Sri Lanka arrive for a long multi-format tour. First up are three T20 Internationals at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, all night matches.

Schedule

Match	Date	Venue	Time (PKT)
1st T20I	Friday 9 October	Rawalpindi	8:00 pm
2nd T20I	Sunday 11 October	Rawalpindi	8:00 pm
3rd T20I	Tuesday 13 October	Rawalpindi	8:00 pm

The rest of the tour

The T20Is are only the opening leg. Sri Lanka then stay on for a one-day triangular series that also includes England, running from 18 to 31 October, followed by a two-Test series starting on 9 November.

Sri Lanka squad

Kusal Mendis returns as captain after missing the England tour with a hamstring injury, taking over from Charith Asalanka, who has not been picked. Opener Pathum Nissanka and leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga are both ruled out injured, and fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera is included subject to fitness. 21-year-old batter Sineth Jayawardena earns a first T20I call-up.

Squad: Kusal Mendis (c), Kamil Mishara, Sineth Jayawardena, Lahiru Udara, Sahan Arachchige, Kamindu Mendis, Dasun Shanaka, Chamindu Wickramasinghe, Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, Binura Fernando, Nuwan Thushara, Eshan Malinga, Dushmantha Chameera (subject to fitness).

Pakistan: what to watch

• Who returns? The senior players rested for the Asian Games, including Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi and captain Salman Ali Agha, are expected back in contention. Check the PCB’s official announcement for the final squad.
• Asian Games form: Hasan Nawaz’s 96 in the final in Japan makes him hard to ignore, and Saim Ayub and Sahibzada Farhan arrive with fresh match practice.
• Home advantage: Pakistan beat Sri Lanka 3–0 in ODIs at Rawalpindi last November and won the T20I tri-series final against them in the same month.
• Sri Lanka’s form: the visitors lost their recent T20I series in England 3–0 and are without two of their best players.

Read up on Pakistan’s key players on our Pakistan Players page. We’ll post a report after every match.

Nisshin, Japan · 3 October 2026 — Pakistan’s young side came within one big over of an upset but had to settle for silver at the 2026 Asian Games, losing the men’s cricket final to India by 19 runs at Korogi Athletic Park.

India set 212

India won the toss and batted first. Quick half-centuries from Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma, scored at either end of the innings, carried them to 211 for 6 in their 20 overs. Pakistan’s attack, missing all of its senior fast bowlers, struggled to slow the scoring.

Hasan Nawaz’s 96 keeps Pakistan alive

The chase started badly. Captain Sahibzada Farhan fell for 10 and wicketkeeper Usman Khan for 3, and Saim Ayub’s 29 off 22 balls ended when Shivam Dube had him caught. India’s spinners Washington Sundar and Axar Patel each took 2 for 29 to squeeze the middle overs.

Then Hasan Nawaz took over. The right-hander hit 96 off 51 balls with five fours and seven sixes, dragging Pakistan back into the contest and making the final overs genuinely tense. He was out off the very last ball, caught behind off Dube, four short of a famous hundred. Pakistan finished on 192 for 6.

How Pakistan reached the final

• Quarter-final v Hong Kong (28 September): washed out without a ball bowled. Pakistan went through on their higher ICC T20I ranking.
• Semi-final v Bangladesh (1 October): a win that guaranteed at least silver.
• Final v India (3 October): lost by 19 runs.

What the silver means

This was a deliberately second-string squad. Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan, Haris Rauf, Shadab Khan and regular T20I captain Salman Ali Agha were all left out, and four players arrived uncapped in T20Is. Reaching the final and running a full-strength India close is a real positive.

It is also Pakistan’s best men’s result at the Asian Games: they won bronze in Guangzhou in 2010 and finished fourth in Hangzhou in 2023. For Hasan Nawaz, Saim Ayub and the new faces, it strengthens the case for senior T20I places.

Scorecard summary

Team	Score	Key performers
India	211/6 (20 ov)	Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma, half-centuries
Pakistan	192/6 (20 ov)	Hasan Nawaz 96 (51), Saim Ayub 29 (22)

Result: India won by 19 runs. Gold: India · Silver: Pakistan · Bronze: Sri Lanka.

Next for Pakistan: three T20Is against Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi on 9, 11 and 13 October. See our Pakistan Players page for full profiles.