'Pakistan climbed from bottom to top' - Inzamam-ul-Haq draws comparison between 1992 ODI WC and 2022 T20 WC campaigns

Former skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq has backed Pakistan to go all the way in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2022 and at the same time has also recalled the 1992 World Cup while making his predictions. The Men in Green had lifted their first and only  50-over World Cup trophy back in 1992 under the leadership of Imran Khan.

Coincidentally, Pakistan had also faced New Zealand in the semifinal at Eden Park in Auckland where Inzamam went on to score a match-winning 60 against the Martin Crowe-led side. This time again, Pakistan will be locking horns with an in-form New Zealand in the first semifinal at the SCG on Wednesday, November 9.

Pakistan did the same even during the 1992 World Cup: Inzamam-ul-Haq

"Pakistan's performance in the semifinals and final will be better than the Super 12 Stage round", said Inzamam while speaking on his official YouTube channel. "This time in Australia, Pakistan climbed from bottom to top. Even during the 1992 World Cup, Pakistan did the same and climbed from bottom to top."

After losing their first two games against India and Zimbabwe respectively, Pakistan seemed to be heading for an early exit from the tournament. However, they defeated the Netherlands to keep themselves alive in the qualification race.

A 33-run victory against the then undefeated South Africa ignited their tournament hopes and all they needed from there on was to beat Bangladesh and expect India or South Africa to lose their final Super 12 matches. Lady luck smiled on them as not only did the Babar Azam-led side register a five-wicket victory over Bangladesh, and the Proteas were also stunned by the Dutch, which gave Pakistan an easy pass to the semifinals. 

Pakistan would now be hoping to showcase a consistent performance against the BlackCaps. Apart from the semifinal victory in the 1992 World Cup, the Men in Green had also registered impressive wins over the Kiwis in the semis of the 1999 World Cup and the 2007 T20 World Cup respectively.