Winning is a sweet habit and back to back wins, where one of the wins put you in the finals is even sweeter. Something special seems to be at work for Pakistan. It looks like 1992 all over again. Remember the 1992 World Cup in Australia? Which Pakistani can ever forget it? And the present situation, in many ways, is a reminiscent of what happened 13 years ago.

In that tournament we were virtually thrown out after losing to South Africa in a rain affected game. We lost against West Indies, India, South Africa and rain saved us from losing to England. We were all out for 74 against England but somehow managed one crucial point from that game. Our fortunes started to turn when we won against Australia and then also against Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and finally the most potent side of that tournament, New Zealand. With Mark Greatbatch in supreme form the Kiwis were indeed an awesome force. But even winning against them was not enough and Pakistan had to wait and see Australia beating West Indies and hence advancing into the semis.

What reminds me of that World Cup today is the gradual improvement and build up in team spirit, morale and performance. It looked as if Pakistan had picked their moment to peak. Isn't that seem to be happening right now in Australia? Who could have imagined that Pakistan after losing the test series heavily, after getting bowled out in the second innings for a paltry 70 plus in a test, after experiencing the worst side of the Australian media, after seeing the back of speedsters like Shoaib and Sami, and after losing to second degree level teams, will qualify for the final? In 1992 it was Waqar Younis who was the most deadly and fearsome bowler but had to return home without bowling a single delivery and yet Pakistan won the World Cup! Does that ring any chord somewhere? Again our best bowlers are not in the side and the team has started to win.

In fact the return of Shoaib to Pakistan is a blessing in disguise for the tourists. Shoiab's on and off the field behavior at best can be described as that of a spoiled kid. He has the inherent tendency to steal stardom even if he is not performing. He is quite good at putting the whole side's morale down by sloppy and casual fielding at most crucial times (remember his missed catch of Irfan Pathan cost us the place in Asia Cup final this year) and not gelling in with the boys as a team member. He does not applaud the efforts of others and remains visibly aloof when others are celebrating. He does not encourage youngsters, does not respect elders (his recent outbursts against Imran Khan and Wasim Akram) and he does not care about his team but about bowling at 150 plus km an hour. Mr. Shoaib you have to realize that any bowling machine can bowl at maybe 200 km an hour but could that be a substitute for a bowler who hopefully has a mind and who can control his line and length and swing. We need you as a match winner and not merely a showpiece who can bowl extremely fast. In my opinion his absence from the side has provided Pakistan team an opportunity to gel in as a unit, just notice the difference in body language of our players in the presence and absence of Shoaib, and you don't have to a psychologist to understand what and why that change in team spirit and behavior conveys!

Another point which takes me back to 1992 is the venue of the first final, MCG. It was also the venue when Imran got Illingworth, the last English batsman, out and Pakistan won the Cup. There is a huge difference between the current Pakistan side and the one which won the Cup in 1992 but we can’t ignore the recent upsurge in the form of the team, the recent victories, the contentment and relaxation in the squad, their newly found self belief and the fact that our batting has started to come through. These are all positive signs and we being an extremely optimistic bunch of people have the all the right to start dreaming about the outcomes of the final and ask ourselves can it be 1992 again for Pakistan?

(Article: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author only.
Copyright © 2005 Naved Yazdani)