- On this day Pakistan won the World Cup semi-final against New Zealand in 1992
- The men in green chased a target of 262
- Inzamam-ul-Haq played a crucial knock of 60 runs
A country known for having one of the craziest cricket fans around the world, 21st March 1992 was probably one of the best days for Pakistani cricket fans. On this glorious day, the men in green defeated their World Cup co-hosts New Zealand in their own home ground to grab a spot in the finals. Pakistan had already beaten the black caps in the 34th match and again were head-on with them again.
The match began with the hosts winning the toss and choosing to bat first. After a dull start from the top three batsmen, Martin Crowe, who came at number four lit things up for his team. A 91 off 83 balls and a brilliant 50 from Ken Rutherford, took the score to 262 for the white ferns. Wasim Akram and Mushtaq Ahmed successfully took two wickets each.
A slow but steady start marked the beginning of Pakistan’s turn with the bat. 44 from both Imran Khan and Ramiz Raja and a half-century from Javed Miandad who stood till the very end stabilized the score for the green shirts. But what took them to victory was Inzamam-ul-Haq’s scintillating 60 off 37 balls that included some meaty shots. But Moin Khan also deserves some credit for a flashy six and a brilliant four he hit when Pakistan needed nine off eight balls. In the end, Imran and his men won by four wickets cruising to a well-deserved victory.
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