| Pakistan | |
|---|---|
 Pakistan Cricket Board
|
|
| Test status acquired | 1952 |
| First Test match | vs  India at Feroz Shah Kotla Ground, Delhi, 16–18 October 1952 |
| Captain | Misbah-ul-Haq (Test)Azhar Ali (Vice Captain) Azhar Ali (ODI) Sarfraz Ahmed (Vice Captain) Shahid Afridi (T20I)Sarfraz Ahmed (Vice Captain)[1] |
| Coach | Waqar Younis |
| Current ICC Test,ODI and T20Iranking | 3rd (Test) 8th (ODI) 5th (T20I)[2] [2] |
| All-time best ICCTest, ODI and T20Iranking | 1st (Test) 1st (ODI) 1st (T20I) [3] |
| Test matches – This year |
392 5 |
| Last Test match | vs  Sri Lanka at Galle International Stadium,Galle, 17-21June 2015 |
| Wins/losses – This year |
124–111 3/1 |
| As of 21 June 2015 | |
History
Cricket in Pakistan has a history of even before the creation of the country in 1947. The first ever international cricket match inKarachi was held on 22 November 1935 between Sindh and Australian cricket teams. The match was seen by 5,000 Karachiites.[7] Following the independence of Pakistan in 1947, cricket in the country developed steadily and Pakistan was given Test match status at a meeting of the Imperial Cricket Conference at Lord's Cricket Ground in England on 28 July 1952 following recommendation by India,[8] which, being the successor state of the British Raj, did not have to go through such a process. The first captain of the Pakistan national cricket team was Abdul Hafeez Kardar.
Pakistan's first Test match was played in Delhi in October 1952 as part of a five Test series which India won 2–1. Pakistan made their first tour of England in 1954 and drew the series 1–1 after a memorable victory at The Oval in which fast bowlerFazal Mahmood took 12 wickets. Pakistan's first home Test match was in Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dacca, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). in January 1955 against India, after which four more Test matches were played in Bahawalpur,Lahore, Peshawar and Karachi (all five matches in the series were drawn, the first such occurrence in test history[9]).
The team is considered a strong but unpredictable team. Traditionally Pakistani cricket has been filled with players of great talent but limited discipline, making them a team which could play inspirational cricket one day and then perform less than ordinarily another day. Over the years, competitions between India and Pakistan have always been emotionally charged and provide for intriguing contests, as talented teams and players from both sides of the border elevate their game to new levels to produce high-quality cricket. Pakistani contests with India in the Cricket World Cup have seen packed stadiums and elevated atmospheres no matter where the World Cup has been held. However the fans love their team.
1986 Austral-Asia Cup
The 1986 Austral-Asia Cup, played in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, is remembered as a famous last-ball victory for Pakistan against arch-rivals India, with Javed Miandad emerging as a national hero.[10] India batted first and set a target of 245 runs, leaving Pakistan with a required run rate of 4.92 runs per over. Javed Miandad came in to bat at number 3 and Pakistan lost wickets at regular intervals. Later recalling the match, Miandad stated that his main focus was to lose with dignity. With 31 runs needed in the last three overs, Miandad hit a string of boundaries while batting with his team's lower order, until four runs were required from the last delivery of the match. Miandad received a leg side full toss from Chetan Sharma, which he hit for six over the midwicket boundary.
1992 Cricket World Cup
At the 1992 World Cup Semi-final, having won the toss, New Zealand chose to bat first and ended with a total of 262 runs. Pakistan batted conservatively yet lost wickets at regular intervals. With the departure of Imran Khan and Saleem Malik shortly thereafter, Pakistan still required 115 runs at a rate of 7.67 runs per over with veteran Javed Miandadbeing the only known batsman remaining at the crease. A young Inzamam-ul-Haq, who had just turned 22 and was not a well-known player at the time, burst onto the international stage with a match-winning 60 off 37 balls. Once Inzamam got out, Pakistan required 36 runs from 30 balls, which wicketkeeper Moin Khan ended with a towering six over long off, followed by the winning boundary to midwicket. The match is seen as the emergence of Inzamam onto the international stage.[12][13][14]
The 1992 Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand marked Pakistan's first World Cup victory. It is remembered for the comeback Pakistan made after losing key players such as Waqar Younis and Saeed Anwar and being led by an injured captain Imran Khan. Pakistan lost 3 of their first 5 matches and were nearly eliminated in the first round of the tournament after being bowled out for 74 runs against England, until the match was declared as a "no result" due to rain. Imran Khan famously told the team to play as "cornered tigers", after which Pakistan won five successive matches, including, most famously, the semi-final against hosts New Zealand and the final against.England.
