Which Pakistani team was the most unlucky to not win the World Cup?

[Harsh Thakor]

Although winners in 1992,Pakistan teams of 1975,1979,1987 and 1999 were more worthy of being winners.Here I am selecting in order of merit the unluckiest Pakistan sides not to win the world cup.

1.1975

In 1975 Pakistan came within the brink of defeating the eventual champions,West Indies.Chasing a target of 266 runs the West Indies virtually looked dead and buried at 203-9.Creating a sensational twist in the plot the last pair of Roberts and Murray enabled Pakistan to scamper home .West Indies escaped from the depths of despair while Pakistan faltered at the brink of glory.Earlier Pakistan looked cruising home at 170-4 to a victory target of 274 runs to win with 20 overs still to go,against Australia before a sensational collapse.West Indies twice defeated Australia with more conviction than they beat Pakistan which is noteworthy.
Pakistan man to man were arguably the strongest team in 1975 and were robbed of famous win against the champions West Indies.Not to reach the final was really cruel fate.Players of the class of Zaheer Abbas ,Majid Khan,Asif Iqbal ,Mushtaq Muhammad ,Wasim Raja Sarfraz Nawaz etc.were quite a handfull with Javed making his debut.Convincingly thrashed England 2-0 in the prudential trophy a year before ,who were the favourites.Best batting line-up.

2.1979

In 1979 in the semi-final against West Indies inspite of facing a daunting target of 294 to win Pakistan looked like cruising home at 176-1 with Zaheer Abbas and Majid Khan taking the great Calypso attack to the sword.Sadly after the departure of Zaheer and Majid the Pakistani batting simply capitulated.I feel ikt was major mistake sending Haroon Rashid at no 4 instead of Miandad or Asif Iqbal which slowed the scoring rate considerably.Earlier ina group game aginst England it lost by a paltry margin of 14 runs agiainst England at Leeds.Pakistan gave West Indies a mauch more formidable contest than England did in the final which speaks for itself.
In 1979 Pakistan were more deserving than England for a place in the final and should have won the semi-final.I would have backed Pak to defeat England in the final.More batting depth than any team with Imran at no 9 accompanying great batsmen like Majid,Zaheer,Javed and Asif.

3.1987

In 1987 Pakistan were hot favourites registering famous wins against England and West Indies.On the day of the semi-final they simply lost their peak form and were defeated.They beat England so emphatically who were the runners up to Australia in the final which speaks for itself.

In 1987 Pakistan was the best team but were just past their best by the time of the knockout stage.Posessed the most lethal and diverse attack with Imran,Wasim and Qadir and great batting depth with Wasim batting at no 9 and Qadir at no 10.Great strokeplayers in Rameez Raja ,Miandad ,Salim Malik and Ejaz Ahmed .

4.1999

In 1999 in the league stage Pakistan vanquished eventual winners Australia and all but beat South Africa.However they lost peak form y the knockout stage,losing games to India and Bangladesh.

In 1999 they were arguably atleast the 2nd best if not the best team but often did not play to their potential.Still reached the final unlike unlucky South Africa.On paper arguably the best of all teams with a bowling attack of Wasim Waqar ,Shoiaib and Saqlain,allrounders like Razzaq and Azhar Mehmood and batsmen like Inzamam,Anwar,Ejaz etc.
In 1999 Pakistan reached the final but totally disappointed fan sin the final.In the league stage it defeated the eventual winners Australia and came within the skin of their teeth in defeating favourites South Africa.




With more luck or application Pakistan may well have won the 1975,1979,1987 and 1999 editions,If you asess the talent of their sides .Pakistan had the strongest batting line up in 1975 and 1979 and on both occasions were on the verge of toppling champions West Indies.

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

Informative list.

I say the 2011 team was on the brink as well. Had we held our catches and DRS weren't altered it was curtains for team India and SRT.

But the power of (sponsors'-money-fueled) BCCI overcame, the DRS took an eternity to process and both Ajmal and SRT couldn't believe what the big screen displayed. Game vs SL was a formality.

Sigh.

 

[Bigbb]

Informative list.

I say the 2011 team was on the brink as well. Had we held our catches and DRS weren't altered it was curtains for team India and SRT.

But the power of (sponsors'-money-fueled) BCCI overcame, the DRS took an eternity to process and both Ajmal and SRT couldn't believe what the big screen displayed. Game vs SL was a formality.

Sigh.

Stop that silly excuse of "altered DRS" for god's sake. We were poor in the field and mentally shot on that day and India were a better team and deserved to win.

And if DRS was alterable that easily, then even Sehwag and Dhoni dismissals on that day would have been reversed. That lame excuse of DRS altering makes us all Pak fans look lame and silly.

 

[Suleiman]

1987 for sure. That team was more on track to seal it than the 1992 one.

 

[Mamoon]

Stop that silly excuse of "altered DRS" for god's sake. We were poor in the field and mentally shot on that day and India were a better team and deserved to win.

And if DRS was alterable that easily, then even Sehwag and Dhoni dismissals on that day would have been reversed. That lame excuse of DRS altering makes us all Pak fans look lame and silly.

Or Sehwag in the final when he was out LBW in the first over. Unfortunately, we like to cry - it is tradition.

Both teams played poorly in the semifinal and were under immense pressure. However, we were worse than India and lost fair and square.

Nevertheless, it was a big opportunity missed because India was the only team that was better than us in those conditions.

 

[Markhor]

1975 and 1987 but otherwise we got what we deserved in the end.

 

[Bigbb]

Or Sehwag in the final when he was out LBW in the first over. Unfortunately, we like to cry - it is tradition.

Both teams played poorly in the semifinal and were under immense pressure. However, we were worse than India and lost fair and square.

Nevertheless, it was a big opportunity missed because India was the only team that was better than us in those conditions.

I don't think India were a better team than us. Yes they played better than us on the day, but overall their team wasn't the better one.

Batting was slightly better than us but our bowling was miles better than theirs. It's just that our players got cold feet and just couldn't handle it while chasing a pretty easy total.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

I would say 87 was Pakistan's for the taking. Other world cups I believe the results were just what they deserved.

 

[Mamoon]

I don't think India were a better team than us. Yes they played better than us on the day, but overall their team wasn't the better one.

Batting was slightly better than us but our bowling was miles better than theirs. It's just that our players got cold feet and just couldn't handle it while chasing a pretty easy total.

Bowling attacks were comparable, but their batting was miles better than ours.

Sehwag
Tendulkar
Kohli (albeit before his peak)
Yuvraj
Raina
Dhoni

vs

Hafeez
Kamran/Shehzad
Shafiq/Kamran
Younis
Misbah
Umar

No comparison really. Their top 6 was comfortably better man to man.

That was one strong team in Asian conditions and that is why they were heavy favorites.

Pakistan, in spite of having a poor batting lineup that failed to score a single hundred, had a very balanced attack for those conditions. No team was able to score big except for New Zealand thanks to Kamran.

 

[Ronaldo7]

'87 coz we would have faced England in the final if we had won the semi final. We had beaten england twice in the group stage so we were well set

 

[cricketAXEpert]

1987 We were hot favorites. Then Mudassar Nazir Was sick on the morning of the match & Saleem Yousuf got hit in the face with Abdul Qadir's delivery. Miandad wicket keeping allowed Australia to score big. Imran Khan was given out by an Umpire's mistake. Tauseef Hurt his finger and could not spin the ball while bowling. Many things went against Pakistan.

 

[shaaik]

I was only 2 in 87 and my father says that was Pakistan's world cup to lose but some how Australia came in the way or we let Australia come in the way. I think 96 and 2011 were also right up their for taking but both times India got in the way.

 

[goran]

Has to be the 1987 team. We were firm favourites and had a dream team. Australia were not that good but somehow we lost to them. 2011 team was a poor one and didn't deserve to win. 1996 team was great as well but unfortunately lost to India.

 

[Manager101]

Our 1987 team was a beast.

 

[AAli98]

Should have won all the world cups held in the 90s criminal not to win the 99 world cup.

 

[hitthestump]

2003 was a gun team and could easily have won the WC. Some of players might have been on their last legs but practically every position from opener to no 11 was filled by a superstar.

 

[CleverSir]

2003 was a gun team and could easily have won the WC. Some of players might have been on their last legs but practically every position from opener to no 11 was filled by a superstar.

I think the "last legs" part is understated. They were limping to the finish. Plus in SA. We weren't winning that.

 

[gazza619]

It still hurts thinking about the 1999 final loss.

But I hear that the 1987 semi final loss was one of the most depressing days in our country’s history.

On a personal level I have never felt so heartbroken as I felt when i saw the 1996 QF loss to India.

 

[PakLFC]

1999. Should have done much better in the final. It all went wrong from the start when Saeed Anwar couldn't get his bat handle right. We never recovered from that loss of concentration. Losing the final hurt me much more then any other match.

 

[Sunny_majoka]

1999
That team was beast

 

[Stewie]

99, followed by 87 and 96.

96 was a cop out with wasim allegedly selling his soul for the money.

 

[Swashbuckler]

None, they all got what they deserved. It is not enough to be the best on paper, you have to prove on the field you are the best especially in the mental department, that is what separates the great champions from others. Ideally in every sport all the top seeds must sweep the big championships, but it rarely happens be it individual or team sports.

1987: Both India and Pakistan should have made the finals but overconfidence got the better of them
1996: Choke by Aamer Sohail, couldn't keep his cool when Pakistan had India in its grip
1999: Final was a ruthless beatdown, even in group stage Pakistan weren't that impressive, lost quite a few games
2003: Great players but many on their last legs, never adjusted to the vastly different conditions either
2011: Choke against a dismal Indian team, nerves affected both but more in case of Pakistan

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

1996 and 1999. They had a very good team in 1999 but Australia had some others plans on that day. It was one of the most one sided final. Australia did the same to India also in 2003 World Cup. That Indian team was also the unluckiest to not win the world cup too.

 

[Slog]

The 1987 Pakistan WC team was one of the strongest Pakistani team periods.

The 1999 team is overrated. It had a very weak underbelly as far as the batting was concerned

 

[Swashbuckler]

1996 and 1999. They had a very good team in 1999 but Australia had some others plans on that day. It was one of the most one sided final. Australia did the same to India also in 2003 World Cup. That Indian team was also the unluckiest to not win the world cup too.

Pakistan elected to bat first in 1999, we elected to field first 4 years later and both were blunders. What if toss decisions were reversed? Australia may still have won both times but at least there would have been more resistance.

1996 QF was epic. The MOM was our present number 1 anti-national politician , wonder if certain patriots will disown that famous victory.

 

[Stewie]

In 99, pakistan played 10 matches, won 6, lost four.
Beat NZ twice, Aust, WI, Zimbabwe,Scotland once each

Lost to Bangladesh, India (both games after securing place in the next rounds, so I think they got complacent or took it lightly) , SA and Australia the last two being genuine defeats in my opinion.

I think it was ours to lose because we had bested Australia already and we were definitely the better team than them in 99.

I have noticed some posters claim our batting was weak but it wasn’t.
Anwar, Inzi, wasti, Moin, they were all scoring. And averaged over 30.
Razzaq, wasim and ijaz averaged in the 20s. Yousaf averaged 53.

Those are not weak batting stats.

I will always believe that 99 was an opportunity lost!

 

[khurram39]

What about 2003 side.

 

[Chokli]

99, followed by 87 and 96.

96 was a cop out with wasim allegedly selling his soul for the money.

i think the 99 was the soul bit...

a year earlier he was captain for his domestic team and chose to bowl first in overcast conditions

not to mention we chased in the semi final and won convincingly....240 was a good score back then

 

[Chokli]

Would anyone trade the 92 World Cup win for the 87 World Cup victory?

We can pretend Pakistan are knocked out in the group stages in 92..

 

[Stewie]

Would anyone trade the 92 World Cup win for the 87 World Cup victory?

We can pretend Pakistan are knocked out in the group stages in 92..

Winning World Cup in India would have been awesome but no I won’t trade the 92 win purely due to the way we came back like a force. That performance just completely transformed our cricket for the next decade. We developed a killer instinct and belief.

 

[Stewie]

i think the 99 was the soul bit...

a year earlier he was captain for his domestic team and chose to bowl first in overcast conditions

not to mention we chased in the semi final and won convincingly....240 was a good score back then

In 99, Waz allegedly fixed games smartly. Non consequential games such as the one against India and Bangladesh. 96 was the one where he actually sold us down the river (allegedly)