We were shocked by the way Aamer Sohail behaved against India in 1996 World Cup: Waqar Younis

India’s encounter with arch-rival Pakistan in ICC tournaments has always been thrilling for both the players and the audience. India and Pakistan face each other in ICC tournaments only as no bilateral series is hosted between the two nations due to the political differences. The last time the two nations played a bilateral series against each other dates back to 2012 when Pakistan toured India.

Recently, Pakistan’s legendary pacer Waqar Younis gave an insight into the quarter-final match between Pakistan and India during the 1996 World Cup. It was a special match for the Pakistan side as they were then-defending world champions. Pakistan had won its first World Cup in 1992 under the leadership of Imran khan and was looking to win the title again. However, their hopes of becoming the world champions crashed as they lost the quarter-final against India by 39 runs.

The Indian team had managed to get 287 on board in the 50-over match. As a result, Pakistan had to chase a target of 288 for victory. The opening duo Aamer Sohail and Saeed Anwar gave a good start to the team by scoring 84 runs in the first ten overs. Though India got its first breakthrough, Pakistan was going strong with 109/1 in the 14th over. Sohail then smacked Venkatesh Prasad through cover-point for a four and then infamously pointed his bat towards the boundary showing the bowler that is where he is going to hit him again.

However, the momentum of the match shifted to the Indian side when Sohail got out on the very next ball as Prasad uprooted his off-stump. Despite a good start, Pakistan batting line-up succumbed to pressure as the Indians restricted their opponents at 248.

The pressure got to Aamer Sohail: Waqar Younis

Speaking on ‘The Greatest Rivalry Podcast’, Younis recalled that nail-biting match against India. Along with talking about the performance of Sohail, Waqar also praised the bowling line-up of his opponents that included the likes of Anil Kumble and Venkatesh Prasad.

“To be very honest, we were shocked by the way he (Sohail) was behaving on the field. He was tonking the ball all over the park, why did he need to do that? I guess, the pressure got to him. He batted superbly, he was looking really good and I think he scored 55 off not many deliveries (55 off 46). And Saeed Anwar also. We lost our first wicket when Pakistan were 85-odd (84) in the first ten overs. We were cruising, and then once we lost Saeed Anwar and then Aamir Sohail straight away, it just went wrong,” said the former captain

Prasad shone with figures of 3/45 while leg-spinner Anil Kumble also picked up three wickets and put the brakes on Pakistan’s scoring rate.

“And full credit should be given to Anil Kumble, when he came in and Prasad came in for his second spell, he sort of started nipping the ball a little bit. And Pakistan got so much pressure and once we lost Ijaz and Inzamam within an over or so, it became very very difficult.

We made quite a few mistakes in that game. Javed Miandad was there, he could have gone in at number four but we kept him at number six, there was no use because he was approaching the end of his career. We kept him for very late, he should have batted at number four. Overall, a good game for cricket and India were well-deserved winners,” Waqar added.