Cricket is a very famous sport in Pakistan, and Pakistani people love cricket more than any other sport. Rich history of Pakistan Cricket Team is one of the main reason of becoming number 1 sports in Pakistan. Pakistan produced many legends of Cricket. Players like Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Shahid Afridi, Waqar Younis, and many other cricket stars have represented Pakistan. These players helped the Pakistan cricket team to win major ICC tournaments. Here are some crucial events in the history of Pakistan Cricket.
First Test Win
PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) is the main unit that handles all Cricket in Pakistan. The Pakistan Cricket Board was formed one year after Pakistan became independent in 1947. In 1952, the Pakistan team played its first international test match. Abdul Hafeez Kardar was the captain of the team. In this 2-match series, Pakistan won the 2nd match.
It was Pakistan’s first-ever test victory, which became a delightful part of the History Of Pakistan Cricket. After two years, in 1954, Pakistan won its first test series against England. England was one of the world’s strongest test sides then, but Pakistan showed courage and faith to win that series.
First ODI match
Cricket had only one format of the game, test cricket, until 1971. The first one-day match was played on 5 January 1971 between Australia and England. Pakistan played its first-ever ODI match in 1973 against New Zealand. In 1973, Pakistan won its first-ever ODI Match against England, becoming a significant part of the History Of Pakistan Cricket.
ICC Cricket World Cup win
In 1992, Pakistan won its first World Cup title. Pakistan played awful Cricket at the start of the tournament as Pakistan lost against India and England at the beginning of the tournament. But the leader of Pakistan Cricket team in 1992 World Cup, Imran Khan stood form and show wisdom to create positive results for Pakistan. After excellent efforts and skills, Pakistan won its first game of the 1992 World Cup against Zimbabwe.
Pakistan surprised everyone by winning against Australia on their home soil. This performance boosts the Pakistan team’s confidence and Pakistan qualified for the semi-finals. Pakistan won the semi-finals against the tournament’s most consistent team, New Zealand and reached the final of World Cup for the first time.
In the finals, Pakistan met England, who was hoping for its first World Cup win after losing 2 World Cup finals in 1979 and 1987. Pakistan demolished England’s dreams by winning the title. It was the first-ever World Cup win for Pakistan in Cricket. Pakistan became the 2nd Asian side and overall 4th side to lift the trophy. It is one of the most significant moments of Pakistan in the history of Pakistan Cricket.
Rise of Fast Bowlers
After winning the 1992 World Cup, Imran Khan and Wasim Akram’s popularity massively increased. Wasim Akram was the Player of the tournament, and Imran Khan was captain of Pakistan’s side in the 1992 World Cup. Both players were fast bowlers. The youth of Pakistan start following them as their role model as cricketers. That is why Pakistan produced many fast bowlers in international Cricket which played their part to glorify the History Of Pakistan Cricket.
And the results of their influence was shown after 8-9 years of 1992 World Cup. Speed star Shoaib Akhtar bowled the fastest bowl in Cricket history. Muhammad Asif who has incredible swing in his bowling. Mohammad Amir played for Pakistan for many years. Modern players like Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf impressed everyone with their fast bowling.
After producing such an exciting talent in fast bowling, Pakistan was declared as the land of fast bowlers. Fast bowlers played a massive role in the history of Pakistan’s Cricket. Depsite having excellent fast bowling, Pakistan Cricket Team is also got excellent talent of Batting. Check out the list of top 10 batters of Pakistan cricket.
ICC T20 World Cup 2009 win
ICC introduced the T20 format in Cricket in 2004. The first T20 match was played between Australia and New Zealand in 2004. In 2007, ICC introduced the mega event of T20 cricket. Pakistan played in the final of the 2007 T20 World Cup. Unfortunately, Pakistan lost against India in the 2007 T20 World Cup finals.
After two years, in 2009, Pakistan played the 2nd consecutive final of the T20 World Cup. In the 2009 T20 World Cup finals, Pakistan beat Sri Lanka and lifted the 2009 triumph. It was the first-ever T20 title in the history of Pakistan Cricket. Younis Khan was the captain of the Pakistan team in the 2009 ICC T20 World Cup. T20 World Cup 2009 title become an adorable part of the History Of Pakistan Cricket.
Introduction of PSL
In 2007, India introduced the first-ever franchise-based T20 league. In this league, a total of 8 teams participated. IPL became a massive advantage for BCCI. IPL is producing huge revenue for BCCI. It has made many players the faces of the Indian National team. After seeing excellent success of Franchise League all over the world, In 2015, PCB introduced its franchise-based T20 league. The first season of PSL was played in 2016. Islamabad United won the first title of PSL. Now, PSL is entering into its ninth season. A total of 6 teams compete against each other in PSL. The exciting thing about PSL is that every team has won the title of PSL at least once.
Results of PSL
PSL produces enormous talent for Pakistan. Many players came from PSL to the national side and made an impact. Many permanent players of the Pakistan Cricket team came from PSL. Players like Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf, Fakhar Zaman, and Zaman Khan debuted in the international team after their brilliant performance in PSL. Haris Rauf and Zaman Khan are pure PSL talent. Both players came through from the PDP player development program of Lahore Qalandars.
Haris Rauf has played various ICC tournaments for Pakistan. Zaman Khan has to prove his worth to the Pakistani side. One of the significant results of PSL was the Champions Trophy 2017 win. In the 2017 Champions Trophy, Hasan Ali got the most wickets. He won the Player of the Tournament award because of his 13 wickets in that tournament. Fakhar Zaman played an unmatchable innings against India in the finals of 114 runs.
Champions Trophy 2017
Pakistan’s cricket team was 8th-ranked at the start of the 2017 Champions Trophy. Pakistan lost its first game of the 2017 Champions against India. After losing against India, the tournament became a knockout for the Pakistan team. In 2nd and 3rd match, Pakistan Cricket team beat South Africa and Sri Lanka and made it to the 2017 Champions Trophy semi-finals.
In the semi-finals, Pakistan beat England in a one-sided encounter. Pakistan played its final match against India. India was a very dominating side in that tournament. But the Pakistan cricket team played exceptionally well to lift the Champions Trophy title. The Champions Trophy win is one of the biggest wins in the history of Pakistan cricket. Pakistan became the 2nd Asian and 4th overall side to win three major ICC titles.
Future of Pakistan Cricket
Pakistan has a lot of talent that can serve Pakistan in Cricket, which is a great sign. But to find them and invest in them is essential. Pakistan Cricket has some problems to solve in the future. One of the big problems of the Pakistan Cricket team is consistency. Pakistan needed to maintain consistency in international Cricket.
They have also made the domestic circuit strong enough for players to create their test cricket to a higher level. Pakistan Cricket team has some players who can more glorify the History Of Pakistan Cricket for more than 10 years for Pakistan. Players like Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Muhammad Haris, and others can played for Pakistan for over 10 years. But it is up to the Pakistan Cricket team to save them for a more extended period.
