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What was that special ingredient in 2009 that brought us an ICC trophy?

MenInG

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I feel captaincy and star power were huge.

But look at the big names in there - so many match-winners in the shorter format

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Our luck changed when Razzaq came in. His inclusion changed the whole thing for us despite him not having major impactful solo performances.

He balanced the side, took the new ball and that let Gul and the spinners operate with an older ball. It also extended our tail.

A real stroke of luck.
 
Remember when Younis made the "WWE" comments?

I recall that He was widely ridiculed for treating the WC as a joke.

When we won the cup that same comment was reframed as a motivational tool that helped relieve pressure from the players!
 
Amir and Afridi were the stars of that tournament. The way Afridi batted in the knockout stage was an absolute treat to watch. Amir's spell in the final was fiery and he was the one who set the tone for that victory.
 
Younis Khan’s leadership was pivotal, if you had even 1-2% of talent, Khan did well to maximise it and kept the players believing.

From taking pressure off them with the WWF none sense, to laughing about due to school level fielding and instilling self belief in both young/senior players to do the business.

And on the pitch he was shrewd with his planning, field placings and use of bowlers.

Then there’s an absolute imbecile like Wahab ‘Mai Ab Mo.Harris Ko drop karoh gah’ with his goofy teeth.

Just think of the heights Mo.Harris would have reached if he played under Khan.

When there’s a talent in somebody and you just drop them due to performance, it is a bit of a cop out and here, we just know some score is being settled or something petty.

Anyway, no Pak player in 21st century has bought more joy to Pakistani’s then Khan.
 
The biggest difference maker was the fact that Afridi batted for the team for the first time in his career and the results were there for everyone to see.

He is the most selfish batsman in history but he kept his ego at bay in the knockouts and showed what he could have achieved with the bat in the shorter formats if he was a team man.
 
More than batting, it was Bowling that clicked in crucial stages. Can't forget the contribution of Gull.
 
The biggest difference maker was the fact that Afridi batted for the team for the first time in his career and the results were there for everyone to see.

He is the most selfish batsman in history but he kept his ego at bay in the knockouts and showed what he could have achieved with the bat in the shorter formats if he was a team man.
Do you think Younis deserves some praise for Afridi's performances?

Particularly because of his decision to promote Afridi.
 
Younis Khan’s leadership was pivotal, if you had even 1-2% of talent, Khan did well to maximise it and kept the players believing.

From taking pressure off them with the WWF none sense, to laughing about due to school level fielding and instilling self belief in both young/senior players to do the business.

And on the pitch he was shrewd with his planning, field placings and use of bowlers.

Then there’s an absolute imbecile like Wahab ‘Mai Ab Mo.Harris Ko drop karoh gah’ with his goofy teeth.

Just think of the heights Mo.Harris would have reached if he played under Khan.

When there’s a talent in somebody and you just drop them due to performance, it is a bit of a cop out and here, we just know some score is being settled or something petty.

Anyway, no Pak player in 21st century has bought more joy to Pakistani’s then Khan.
Amirs execution to Dilshan in the first over of the final. Pakistan came out with a real plan and stuck to it. If Dilshan had gotten away then the game would have been tough.

Two young fixers contributed to that wicket. Amir and Shazabe. Thankfully that day they were only worried about fixing up a victory.
 
No special ingredient

Just one of those crazy runs that Pakistan can find in an ICC tournament. It’s all about timing for that run. Sometimes it comes at the time of need, sometimes it arrives slightly late. But that crazy run is what Pakistan depend on. Not actual strategy and tactics to match the best in the world.

Without that crazy run, Pakistan are a mediocre tournament side.
 
Amirs execution to Dilshan in the first over of the final. Pakistan came out with a real plan and stuck to it. If Dilshan had gotten away then the game would have been tough.

Two young fixers contributed to that wicket. Amir and Shazabe. Thankfully that day they were only worried about fixing up a victory.

The balls on both the captain/player to execute that first over.

Absolutely, it’s always thrilling in England but I’ve never experienced anything quiet like the atmosphere from that tournament, I was lucky to have bought tickets for the semi-final at Trent Bridge beforehand.

Who could forget Shazaib and how they even managed to get something out of him, I just think the players on the whole were handled so well.

There use to be an old saying that once Pak made it to the semis, they were to be feared. It’s not like that anymore, part of if might be RizBabar bending over to get their ‘eye in’ during T20 KO games of tournaments, no flexibility or change in the approach whatsoever.
 
No special ingredient

Just one of those crazy runs that Pakistan can find in an ICC tournament. It’s all about timing for that run. Sometimes it comes at the time of need, sometimes it arrives slightly late. But that crazy run is what Pakistan depend on. Not actual strategy and tactics to match the best in the world.

Without that crazy run, Pakistan are a mediocre tournament side.

That is missing, the unpredictability was dangerous. Now when Pak show up you know exactly what’s going down, the match may as well be fixed.
 
No special ingredient

Just one of those crazy runs that Pakistan can find in an ICC tournament. It’s all about timing for that run. Sometimes it comes at the time of need, sometimes it arrives slightly late. But that crazy run is what Pakistan depend on. Not actual strategy and tactics to match the best in the world.

Without that crazy run, Pakistan are a mediocre tournament side.
Kinda disagree for 2009, the bowling was all star. Batting wise afridi, Akmal, razzaq carried.
 
What a shot that was unbelievable

Kamran akmals six vs Dale steyn

Had some super players in that 2009 led by a lion in younis khan
 
Tournament wins are about everything clicking at the right time.

Younis led well and they had a dynamite bowling lineup with specific roles for each bowler. Oppositions got bombarded one after the other by Amir, Gul, Afridi, Ajmal, and Razzaq.

The fact Afridi, Akmal, Malik, Razzaq all clicked with the bat only made them that much stronger.
 
A special ingredient was also the fixtures.

-Avoiding India and Australia in crucial games

+facing our lovely New Zealand and South Africa sides at the time of our need.
 
That special ingredient was Shahid Afridi's all-round performance, Kamran Akmal's explosive batting, and Fawad Alam's fielding.
 
Kamran Akmal straight six to Dale Steyn

We won the World Cup there and then!
 
@Rana @mominsaigol

Getting repetitive all this anti Rizwan/Babar thing in every thread

Also is very off putting for anyone who does the effort to create threads when you guys come on and hijack it.
 
Umar Gul's yorkers game after game
Back then a lot of the batsmen in most teams were Test and ODI players as well. It wasn’t a custom to learn T20 style batting only as it is now. Nailing a perfect Yorker meant it would be a single at most or a wicket. Nowadays, no particular type of delivery is safe.
 
Gul was a gun t20 bowler. Probably one of the greatest Pakistan t20 bowlers of all time.
 
Peaking at the right time and Afridi firing on all cylinders when it mattered most. If you ask me, I thought we had an even better team in 2007. But it wasn't to be.
 
Three words -> Younis Khan's captaincy.

People hate to admit this because of their toxic agendas and because he comes across as someone who's "hot headed" but make no mistake, he's the best white ball captain Pakistan have had since Imran Khan.

He was the only leader who understood Afridi and as a result, he was successfully able to get the best out of him, when he excelled in the 2009 WT20. This was the only ICC tournament where Afridi put together a string of consistent performances with the bat. Younis Khan’s decision to bat him at 3 in the final and also in the semi final against South Africa turned out to be a masterstroke.

Younis Khan’s tactical nous was also on full display during the first over of that 2009 final, when Amir was bowling to Dilshan, who was the leading run scorer in the tournament. Amir’s execution was perfect as Dilshan was struggling to put bat to ball. Dilshan ended up getting bounced out by Amir in the final ball of the over in what turned out to be one of the greatest and most memorable maiden wicket taking overs in Pakistan's cricketing history.

Younis Khan's duration as captain Pakistan lasted less than a year but he still managed to win a WT20 and take his side to the Semi-Finals of the CT after beating India.

We would never have won this tournament if Misbah was captain. Sadly, we then witnessed him destroy Pakistan cricket in the 2010s.
 
They peaked at the right time, and you had a prime Umar Gul, who was the highest wicket taker of the tournament, of course their was also Afridi, who came up the order and showed up for the semi-finals and finals. Amir bowling, and Younis Khan was a pretty good captain, Kamran Akmal also had a good tourney as well from what I recall

The first Pakistan Lost, against England, and they needed to win the next game to go to the next super 8s. Pak had to play Netherlands, and Netherlands won their previous match vs England. Pakistan did win, thankfully haha and were able to progress to the Super 8s.

In the super 8s, Pakistan was paired with Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Ireland. Pakistan lost the first Super 8 match, and I believe they replaced opener Salman Butt, with Shahzaib Hasan, and that helped and turned things around, Pakistan than went on to beat New Zealand and Ireland, booking a spot in the semi-finals, with South Africa, which Pakistan, and than winning the grand final in 2009 vs Sri Lanka

I think it is several factors, nothing really special but just doing the right things, at the right time
Brining in Shahzaib Hasan, Shahid Afridi coming up the order and have good all around performence in semi-finals and finals
Amir and Gul bowling in tandems, Razzaq as well who bowled great in the finals, Saeed Ajmal, Fawad Alam fielding, and Akmal having a decent tourney as well

Is it fair to point out the format, helped a bit as well, and 2 of Pakistans wins came agaisnt weaker sides (Ireland and Netherlands) but that being said Pakistan played well, and deserved to win the cup that year, I think everything just fell into place and Pakistan just played good cricket
 
Shahid Afridi's wrong one to gibbs and flipper to ab were 2 tournament deciding balls. SA was cruising to win after power play ended
 
Three words -> Younis Khan's captaincy.

People hate to admit this because of their toxic agendas and because he comes across as someone who's "hot headed" but make no mistake, he's the best white ball captain Pakistan have had since Imran Khan.

He was the only leader who understood Afridi and as a result, he was successfully able to get the best out of him, when he excelled in the 2009 WT20. This was the only ICC tournament where Afridi put together a string of consistent performances with the bat. Younis Khan’s decision to bat him at 3 in the final and also in the semi final against South Africa turned out to be a masterstroke.

Younis Khan’s tactical nous was also on full display during the first over of that 2009 final, when Amir was bowling to Dilshan, who was the leading run scorer in the tournament. Amir’s execution was perfect as Dilshan was struggling to put bat to ball. Dilshan ended up getting bounced out by Amir in the final ball of the over in what turned out to be one of the greatest and most memorable maiden wicket taking overs in Pakistan's cricketing history.

Younis Khan's duration as captain Pakistan lasted less than a year but he still managed to win a WT20 and take his side to the Semi-Finals of the CT after beating India.

We would never have won this tournament if Misbah was captain. Sadly, we then witnessed him destroy Pakistan cricket in the 2010s.
YK was a gun captain. But he himself was out of place in odi and t20 sadly
 
Ham jeetein tou fluke, ham harein tou normal. Bhai sahi ja rahay ho sab
2017 amd 2009 weren't flukes, people just think they are cause of agendas.

1992 tbh kinda is. The rained off game was kudrat ki nizam. Credit to Pakistan for dominating after that though.
 
2017 amd 2009 weren't flukes, people just think they are cause of agendas.

1992 tbh kinda is. The rained off game was kudrat ki nizam. Credit to Pakistan for dominating after that though.
Hahah mate, you’ve also been converted. 1992 was not a fluke. You cannot fluke a major tournament. It isn’t about being the best team “on the day” and all of that bull. You have to play consistently good cricket and mind games to be able lift that trophy.

No country that wins a cricket tournament just flukes their way to it especially not when your team is filled with GOATs like Imran and Wasim and ATGs like Miandad and Inzi.

You could argue we defied expectations but to say we fluked it is taking credit away from champions.
 
The fluke argument is as good as the copium we saw from Indian fans when they lost the WC saying “we were still the best team in the tournament on paper”.

Bhai lay lo paper aap —> 📄
 
Hahah mate, you’ve also been converted. 1992 was not a fluke. You cannot fluke a major tournament. It isn’t about being the best team “on the day” and all of that bull. You have to play consistently good cricket and mind games to be able lift that trophy.

No country that wins a cricket tournament just flukes their way to it especially not when your team is filled with GOATs like Imran and Wasim and ATGs like Miandad and Inzi.

You could argue we defied expectations but to say we fluked it is taking credit away from champions.
Fluke is the wrong word, it's best to say luck.

1992 needs credit for being the greatest comeback of all time but their are always certain factors that are outside your control in tournaments that give you the edge.

2023 wc: Maxwell got dropped on 29 against Afghanistan, the drop was out of his hands, yes he utilised his chance given to perfection but he was given a chance and it was lucky from his perspective.

2019: Not a single soul could have predicted that the deflection would happen. Stokes wouldn't have chased the target down otherwise, not with the way NZ was bowling throughout the tournament.

1992: The England game got rained off, Pakistan had lost that 100%, we didn't deserve that extra point, but again credit to Pakistan for making use of their luck given.

2011: Sachin was given 7 respites against Pakistan.

Luck is a factor in almost every tournament that's ever been played unless your Australia which is just built different. Classic Australia and 2015 Australia are probs the only teams to power through.

2023 India would have been the same had they won the tournament but alas it was not to be

Edit: By stokes chasing the target down I meant super over .
 
Fluke is the wrong word, it's best to say luck.

1992 needs credit for being the greatest comeback of all time but their are always certain factors that are outside your control in tournaments that give you the edge.

2023 wc: Maxwell got dropped on 29 against Afghanistan, the drop was out of his hands, yes he utilised his chance given to perfection but he was given a chance and it was lucky from his perspective.

2019: Not a single soul could have predicted that the deflection would happen. Stokes wouldn't have chased the target down otherwise, not with the way NZ was bowling throughout the tournament.

1992: The England game got rained off, Pakistan had lost that 100%, we didn't deserve that extra point, but again credit to Pakistan for making use of their luck given.

2011: Sachin was given 7 respites against Pakistan.

Luck is a factor in almost every tournament that's ever been played unless your Australia which is just built different. Classic Australia and 2015 Australia are probs the only teams to power through.

2023 India would have been the same had they won the tournament but alas it was not to be
Exactly. Your comment highlights the kind of luck it takes for every team to win a tournament. I mean, just look at England in 2019.

Hence why I said, hamara kutta kutta, aapka kutta Tommy
 
Exactly. Your comment highlights the kind of luck it takes for every team to win a tournament. I mean, just look at England in 2019.

Hence why I said, hamara kutta kutta, aapka kutta Tommy
I meant luck, as I said fluke isn't the right word, but If you read my past comments and my POTW I've gone in severe detail on luck aspects in tournaments.

Also luck isn't a bad thing, it's almost impossible to play a tournament without luck, luck is anything that's outside your control really.

The idea is to make use of that luck once it is given to you.
 
I meant luck, as I said fluke isn't the right word, but If you read my past comments and my POTW I've gone in severe detail on luck aspects in tournaments.

Also luck isn't a bad thing, it's almost impossible to play a tournament without luck, luck is anything that's outside your control really.

The idea is to make use of that luck once it is given to you.
What I’m trying to say is that when Pakistan is lucky, people call it a fluke - when others are lucky, people call it luck or fate or whatever else.

Heck, Pakistan wasn’t even particularly lucky in 2017 yet the whole world called it a fluke.

I don’t know how strong your Urdu is but the above idiom I posted is a way of highlighting the double standard.
 
What I’m trying to say is that when Pakistan is lucky, people call it a fluke - when others are lucky, people call it luck or fate or whatever else.

Heck, Pakistan wasn’t even particularly lucky in 2017 yet the whole world called it a fluke.

I don’t know how strong your Urdu is but the above idiom I posted is a way of highlighting the double standard.
Bro I understood what you said. Hum Pakistani khoon kei hain, Urdu ki kyon nahi samaj ap kei Bhai ko Ai gi? 😂.

2017 had luck elements in the Sri lanka game and drs against SA, idk if Pakistan would have chased that.

England and India games were a breeze and walk in the park for Pakistan.
 
Bro I understood what you said. Hum Pakistani khoon kei hain, Urdu ki kyon nahi samaj ap kei Bhai ko Ai gi? 😂.

2017 had luck elements in the Sri lanka game and drs against SA, idk if Pakistan would have chased that.

England and India games were a breeze and walk in the park for Pakistan.
Good stuff bro. Idk there’s a lot of overseas Pakistanis here, and I love that but they might not necessarily understand colloquial idioms.
 
Good stuff bro. Idk there’s a lot of overseas Pakistanis here, and I love that but they might not necessarily understand colloquial idioms.
I'm an overseas Pakistani as well living in Sydney. But I travel to Pakistan very frequently, like once every 2-3 months and usually stay for 1-2 months. I'm usually in Pakistan 4 months every year lol.

Ontop of that I'm a Lahori by birth, We are the city that literally created our own idioms 😂😂. Aka Lahore wala kowat.
 
I'm an overseas Pakistani as well living in Sydney. But I travel to Pakistan very frequently, like once every 2-3 months and usually stay for 1-2 months. I'm usually in Pakistan 4 months every year lol.

Ontop of that I'm a Lahori by birth, We are the city that literally created our own idioms 😂😂. Aka Lahore wala kowat.
Good stuff man. I was in Sydney recently for a Fred Again gig. Beautiful city …but yes, nothing beats Lahore. ❤️
 
Good stuff man. I was in Sydney recently for a Fred Again gig. Beautiful city …but yes, nothing beats Lahore. ❤️
Sydney is boring as hell. Melbourne and brisbane are much better.

Sydney makes me yawn, Theirs no night life while Lahore is the city that never sleeps.
 
Sydney is boring as hell. Melbourne and brisbane are much better.

Sydney makes me yawn, Theirs no night life while Lahore is the city that never sleeps.
Haven’t really spent heaps of time in Sydney so I can’t comment but it’s a cool place. But yeah Lahore Lahore aey
 
Abdul Razzaq helped change Pakistan’s balance completely for the better when he came in. A/R’s of his quality and those in the vein of a Stokes are gold dust for any world championship campaign.

A lot of folk may not recall but when Razzaq came in, I think the Pakistan fans started to believe to, there was a lot of excitement on PP.
 
Star power won us, Afridi Gul Ajmal Malik Amir all contributed throughout the tourney nothing else
 
Abdul Razzaq helped change Pakistan’s balance completely for the better when he came in. A/R’s of his quality and those in the vein of a Stokes are gold dust for any world championship campaign.

A lot of folk may not recall but when Razzaq came in, I think the Pakistan fans started to believe to, there was a lot of excitement on PP.
If you pitched it full, you might as well call an Uber to retrieve the ball when bowling to Razzler at the back end. He used to send them
 
If you pitched it full, you might as well call an Uber to retrieve the ball when bowling to Razzler at the back end. He used to send them

We were lucky growing up with these guys.

Now Uncle Ifti is the finisher which the special needs party will brag about, that friggin old fossil.
 
There was no special ingredient. Pakistan won because the format itself was a novelty. T20Is were only 4 years old by that time. Teams were still trying to adapt to the format and figuring out how to play. 150 was considered an above-average score.

All of this suited Pakistan. Pakistan thrives when the game is less scientific because it brings Pakistani cricketers on par with other teams. As the game evolves and becomes more and more scientific and less of an art, that's where Pakistan struggles because Pakistani cricketers aren't educated enough to adapt.

In the 90's, fitness was a relatively non-issue and matches were rarely decided on match fitness. You would have guys like Ranatunga, Boon, Border, Latham with potbellies playing international cricket. It's unthinkable that David Boon would ever find a spot in today's cricket simply because of his lack of fitness.

Nowadays nutrition, fitness, data analytics have taken over the sport and a case can be made where a guy with 60% of skill level but 100% level of nutrition and fitness be a bigger asset to the team than a guy who has 90% skill level but an appalling level of fitness. Pakistani cricketers only focus on skill, which is simply not good enough in today's scientific world.

If a completely new format was invented today in cricket, rest assured Pakistan would have a good chance of winning the tournament in its initial years. However, as teams around the world figure out the format through data analytics, Pakistan would again have no chance.
 
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