http://www.abarrelfull.co.uk/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Pakistan_Fans_Spooked_By_Freakish_Similarities_To_1992 2026-10-28T13:54:25Z Revision history for this page on the wiki MediaWiki 1.33.1 http://www.abarrelfull.co.uk/index.php?title=Pakistan_Fans_Spooked_By_Freakish_Similarities_To_1992&diff=42881&oldid=prev 2020-07-06T02:08:04Z

<p>Created page with &quot;&lt;br&gt;By Amlan Chakraborty&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;MANCHESTER, England, June 27 (Reuters) - Predicting the results of the famously fickle Pakistan is always a tricky task but fans have been str...&quot;</p> <p><b>New page</b></p><div>&lt;br&gt;By Amlan Chakraborty&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;MANCHESTER, England, June 27 (Reuters) - Predicting the results of the famously fickle Pakistan is always a tricky task but fans have been struck by an eerie similarity at this World Cup to their triumphant 1992 campaign and hope it continues all the way to the final.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;Pakistan's loss-win-washout-loss-loss-win sequence in their first six matches in England mirrored their stop-start run 27 years ago in Australia.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;Just like in 1992, they also ran into a New Zealand [https://clcessentials.co.za/OSClass/user/profile/1161762 clcessentials.co.za] side hitherto unbeaten in the tournament and, uncannily enough, pulled off a victory on Wednesday to fuel hopes of a late run into the semi-finals.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;Babar Azam smashed an unbeaten century and Haris Sohail provided the middle-order steel with his second successive fifty after fast bowler Shaheen Afridi had wrecked the Kiwi batting order.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;Leading the tributes to their stunning turnaround was Imran Khan, the captain of the victorious 1992 team and now their Prime Minister.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&quot;Congratulations to our cricket team for a great comeback. Congratulations especially go to Babar, Haris and Shaheen for their brilliant performances,&quot; Khan tweeted.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;Pakistan, currently sixth in the points table with matches against Bangladesh and Afghanistan to play, still have an uphill struggle to make the last four.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;The spooky parallels have already spawned numerous memes on social media, with some of their long-suffering fans beginning to believe the stuttering run might culminate with them winning their second World Cup title next month.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;Some have even gone further and predicted that if that happens, captain Sarfaraz Ahmed, following in Khan's footsteps, would go on to become the country's prime minister in 2045.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;Leading a side still unsure of a place in the semi-finals, Sarfaraz is naturally not getting too ahead of himself.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&quot;We are not thinking about 1992, we are going match by match,&quot; the wicketkeeper-batsman said after the six-wicket victory over New Zealand.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;The jubilation among fans is in contrast to their mood after they lost to arch-rivals India in the June 16 contest in Manchester.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;Irate fans questioned the players' professionalism and even mocked Sarfaraz in London.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;Back-to-back victories since then have lifted the gloom and several former players took to Twitter to congratulate the team.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&quot;Never corner Pakistan. We become tigers when you do that. Congratulations &amp;amp; well done boys,&quot; former fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar wrote.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&quot;Pakistan keep the dream alive,&quot; tweeted former captain Wasim Akram.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;(Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in Manchester; editing by Toby Davis)&lt;br&gt;</div>

BudGee01408368