- Friday, March 07, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
The T20 World Cup 2022 has been a captivating affair so far with two of the semi-finalists getting confirmation only on the final day of the group stage.
The four teams that made the semi-finals are New Zealand and England from Group 1 and India and Pakistan from Group 2.
For both the Asian sides, this World Cup brings back memories of some past 50-over World Cups, such as those of 1992 and 2011.
In 1992, Pakistan led by Imran Khan had a poor start to the tournament and till the middle of it, not many had given them much chance of making even the last four. But Pakistan, who also lost to arch-rivals India in that tournament which was played in Australia and New Zealand, had turned the tables and with some back-to-back wins towards the end of the group stage, made the semi-finals where they beat tournament favourites New Zealand and then defeated England in the final to lift the crown.
Both New Zealand and England are in the semi-finals of the ongoing World Cup.
In the current tournament, Pakistan found a golden opportunity to make the semi-finals after the Netherlands left South Africa stunned and dumped them out of the semi-final race. They then beat Bangladesh in a virtual quarter-final to book a semi-final berth. Babar Azam’s men made a disastrous start to the tournament as they lost to India and Zimbabwe but won their last three group matches to make a comeback, just as was the case in 1992.
In 2021, Pakistan lost the semi-final of the T20 World Cup in the UAE to defending champions Australia, something which had also happened in the 1987 World Cup played in the sub-continent. In the 1992 World Cup, the men in green had made the semi-finals with just a point more than Australia. This year, they did the same with a point’s difference with the Proteas.
India’s campaign has also seen similarities with the 2011 edition which was played in India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.
Under Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India had lost only to South Africa in the group stage, something which happened again this time. They had beaten the Netherlands in the group stage in 2011 and again this time. Also, like it happened in 2022, Ireland had beaten England in the group stage of the 2011 edition.
While these similarities excite cricket historians, there is no doubt that all the four teams will have to play more than good cricket if they wish to lift the crown. India, Pakistan, and England have won the T20 World Cup once each while New Zealand finished as the runners-up in 2021, when they lost to trans-Tasman rivals Australia in the final.
