Pakistani cricket team
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| Pakistan | |
|---|---|
| Test status granted | 1952 |
| First Test match | v India at Delhi, October 1952 |
| Captain | Inzamam-ul-Haq |
| Coach | Bob Woolmer |
| Official ranking | 7th (Test), 3rd (ODI) [1],[2] |
| Test matches - this year | 312 6 |
| Last Test match | v West Indies at Kingston, 2nd Test, 3-7 June 2005 |
| Wins/losses - this year | 96/82 2/3 |
| As of 21 October 2005 | |
The Pakistani cricket team is a national cricket team representing Pakistan. It is administrated by the Pakistan Cricket Board.
Pakistan is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and one-day international status. It played its first Test match in 1952 (against India at Delhi), becoming the seventh Test nation.
Unfortunately, the team has a reputation for inconsistent performance, being unbeatable one day and looking decidedly poor the next. Pakistan has produced many excellent bowlers such as Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, and Shoaib Akhtar, but fewer top class batsmen. Pakistan's bowlers are known for developing and perfecting the art of reverse swing bowling to a high degree of proficiency.
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History of Pakistani international cricket
Cricket has been followed religiously in Pakistan for a long time. While Pakistan is one of the oldest teams currently playing, most would agree that it rose to dominance and began to be considered very seriously under the captaincy of Imran Khan who led the 92 World Cup winning team.
Some of Pakistan's most memorable matches have been the One Day Internationals (ODI) it has played against the neighboring nation of India. Although it has been very difficult to predict whether Pakistan would win a match against India on a given day, it has won 58 of the 95 ODIs it has played against India. However it has been unable to break the jinx of losing to India in the crucial World Cup matches.
During the tour of India in 1997 the Pakistan team consistently outperformed the opposing side on their home turf. Batsman Saeed Anwar put on a show of brilliant batting performance scoring a world record 194 in a single ODI.
In 2004, Pakistan had a mixed set of results. India toured Pakistan after a gap of 15 years.
It lost its home series both in ODI (2-3) and Tests(1-2) to India. The One Day Series was very closely fought affair. The first match at Karachi, saw Pakistan chase a mammth 350 runs, and after an indifferent start, the came within sights of a victory but lost by 5 odd runs. The rest of the matches were also closely fought. The Test matches saw Pakistan losing to their arch rivals in home turf for the first time ever.
Renowned Pakistani cricketers include Hafeez Kardar, Hanif Mohammed, Wasim Bari, Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Saeed Anwar, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Salim Malik and Shoaib Akhtar.
Memorable Moments in the History of Pakistan Cricket
1992 World Cup
Pakistan won the Cricket World Cup for the first time in 1992. Playing under Imran Khan Pakistan Cricketers fought like Asian Tigers and were ultimately the winners.
1986 Australasia Cup
Pakistan won the 1986 Australasia Cup against India in style with Javed Miandad emerging as the National Hero and a World Class Cricketer.
The Pakistanis had managed to make it to the final, and were up against India. India batted first and set a target of 245 runs, leaving the Pakistanis with a required run rate rate of 4.92 per over. Javed Miandad came in to bat at number 3 and managed to bat till the end. On the last ball, four runs were required and Miandad hit a six that sealed the victory for pakistan. His famous last ball six against India in Sharjah is still considered as one of the most historic moments in one-day cricket history.
Notable Pakistan Cricketers
Captains
Kardar led the first Pakistani team to victory over all the Test playing nations of the 1950s, including historic victories over England in England in 1954, and against Australia in Karachi in 1956. Imran Khan led Pakistan to a World Cup victory in 1992 in Australia.
Fast Bowlers
Wasim Akram has taken 502 wickets, the highest by any bowler in ODI cricket. These Pakistani fast bowlers were the innovators and masters of reverse-swing, a mastery unparalleled in any other cricketing culture.
Batsmen
- Hanif Mohammad
- Mushtaq Mohammed
- Javed Miandad
- Inzamam ul Haq
- Saeed Anwar
- Mohammad Yousuf
- Younis Khan
Hanif Mohammad scored 337 against the West Indies in 1958, the first triple hundred by an Asian cricketer. Saeed Anwar holds the record for scoring 194, the highest ODI innings, scored against the Indian cricket team in Chennai in 1997.
Spin Bowlers
Abdul Qadir is considered the reviver of the art of leg-spin bowling, and Saqlain Mushtaq is regarded as one of the best off-spin bowlers in cricket history.
Current Team
The current Pakistani Team players are Inzamam-ul-Haq(Captain),Younis Khan(Vice Captain),Salman Butt,Kamran Akmal(Wicket-Keeper),Mohammad Yousuf,Shahid Afridi,Shoaib Malik,Abdur Razzaq,Arshad Khan,Asim Kamal,Mohd Sami, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan,Shoaib Akhtar
Team Performance
Overall ODI Perfomance:
| Played | Won | Lost | Tie | NR | HS | LS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 617 | 331 | 268 | 6 | 12 | 371 | 43 |
Trivia
- Abdul Jalil aka Chacha cricket (photo) has been following the team since 1969. The PCB pay him 10,000 Pakistani rupees per month to follow the team, and he himself has a number of his own followers.
References
"India v Pakistan". CricInfo ODI Series Summary. URL accessed on JAN 01, 2005.
| National cricket teams |
|---|
| Test Match and ODI: Australia | Bangladesh | England | India | New Zealand
Pakistan | South Africa | Sri Lanka | West Indies | Zimbabwe |
| One Day International: Bermuda | Canada | Ireland | Kenya | Netherlands | Scotland |
| Others: Afghanistan | Denmark | Hong Kong | Namibia | Nepal | Norway | Oman | Papua New Guinea | Uganda | UAE | USA |
