Pakistan national cricket team
The Pakistan men's national cricket team represents Pakistan in international cricket. It is controlled by the Pakistan Cricket Board, the governing body for cricket in Pakistan, which is a Full Member of the International Cricket Council. Pakistan compete in cricket tours and tournaments sanctioned by the PCB and other regional or international cricket bodies in Test, One Day International, and Twenty20 International formats.
Pakistan were given Test status in 1952 following a recommendation from India, but faced limited international success until the 1980s, when they became fixtures in the latter stages of tournaments. They won their first international trophy, the ICC World Cup, in 1992, and then won the Asia Cup in 2000. They saw increased success in the 21st century, winning the T20 World Cup in 2009, the Asia Cup in 2012, and ICC Champions Trophy in 2017.
Pakistan has been plagued by security concerns and domestic instability due to terrorism and the war on terror, restricting it as a venue for international cricket in the 21st century. Despite hosting the 1987 and 1996 World Cups, cricket was not played in the country after an attack against the Sri Lanka national team in 2009; Pakistan then played one-day games in the United Arab Emirates until 2016 and Test games in the UAE until 2019. International cricket was resumed in Pakistan from 2016, which coincided with the debut of the Pakistan Super League, following improvements in security and overall reduction in terrorism.
History
in Pakistan has a history predating the creation of the country in 1947. The first ever international cricket match in Karachi was held on 22 November 1935 between Sindh and Australian cricket teams. The match was seen by 5,000 Karachiites. Ghulam Mohammad was the captain of team Sind and Frank Tarrant was the captain of Tarrant's team. Following the independence of Pakistan in 1947, cricket in the country developed rapidly and Pakistan was given Test match status at a meeting of the Imperial Cricket Conference at Lord's in England on 28 July 1952 following recommendation by India, which, being the successor state of the British Raj, did not have to go through such a process. The first captain of the Pakistan national cricket team was Abdul Hafeez Kardar.Pakistan's first Test match was played in Delhi in October 1952 as part of a five Test series which India won 2–1. Pakistan made their first tour of England in 1954 and drew the series 1–1 after a victory at The Oval in which fast bowler Fazal Mahmood took 12 wickets. Pakistan's first home Test match was against India in January 1955 at Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dacca, East Pakistan, after which four more Test matches were played in Bahawalpur, Lahore, Peshawar and Karachi.
The team is considered a strong but unpredictable team. Traditionally Pakistani cricket has been composed of talented players but is alleged to display limited discipline on occasion, making their performance inconsistent at times. In particular, the India-Pakistan cricket rivalry is usually emotionally charged and can provide for intriguing contests, as talented teams and players from both sides of the border seek to elevate their game to new levels. Pakistan team contests with India in the Cricket World Cup have resulted in packed stadiums and highly charged atmospheres. The team is well supported at home and abroad, especially in the United Kingdom where British Pakistanis have formed a fan-club called the "Stani Army". Members of the club show up to matches across the country and are known to provide raucous support. The Stani Army also takes part in charity initiatives for underprivileged Pakistanis, including annual friendly cricket matches against British Indian members of the similar "Bharat Army".
Test cricket
Pakistan's first Test match was played in Delhi in October 1952 as part of a five Test series. They lost the first test by an innings and 70 runs. India scored 372 runs in their first innings and Pakistan managed 302 runs in combined both innings. However, it just took seven days to turn things around for the Pakistani's. In second Test match, Pakistan blew India away for 106 before Pakistan, with the help of Hanif Mohammad's 124, scored 331 in their first innings, taking a lead of 225. India were bowled out for 182, giving Pakistan a win by an innings and 43 runs. It was Fazal Mahmood's game as he took 12/94. India won the next match by 10 wickets before the final two test were drawn, which resulted India winning series 2–1.Pakistan made their first tour of England in 1954 and drew the series 1–1 after a victory at The Oval in which fast bowler Fazal Mahmood took 12 wickets. Pakistan's first home Test match was against India in January 1955 at Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dacca, East Pakistan, after which four more Test matches were played in Bahawalpur, Lahore, Peshawar and Karachi. In the same year, New Zealand toured Pakistan for their first series against them. They defeated New Zealand by an innings and 1 run in the first test and won the second test match by 4 wickets. The final test ended in a draw, resulting in Pakistan's first ever Test series win, with 2–0 margin.
In 1956 Australia toured Pakistan and played one test, which Pakistan won. They bowled Australia out for 80 in their first innings. Pakistan took a lead of 119 runs when they were dismissed at 199. Pakistan bowled Australia out for 187 in the second innings, giving the hosts a target of 68. Pakistan won comfortably by 9 wickets. Again, Fazal Mahmood was the chief destroyer, taking 13/114 in the match.
Pakistan visited West Indies in 1958 for a five-test series. Pakistan drew the first test. It was Hanif Mohammad's match as he saved Pakistan after they were bowled out for 106 in reply to West Indies' first innings of 579. Trailing by 473, Mohammad played the longest test match innings – a marathon 970 minutes for his match-saving 337. The next three tests went in West Indies' favour before Pakistan won their first match against them by an innings and 1 run. In that match, it was another Mohammad performance. This time it was Hanif's brother Wazir Mohammad who scored 189 out of Pakistan's 496 in reply to the hosts' 268. West Indies were bowled out for 227 in their second innings but the series went to them by 3–1.
Performance during the 1970s till the 1990s
From 1970 to 1979, Pakistan played over 13 Test series, which they won 3, lost 5 and drew 5. In total of 41 Test matches, Pakistan won 6, lost 12 and drew 23. They had a below par performance. But from 1980 to 1989, they did better. Out of 21 Test series they have played from that period, they won 9, lost 5 and drew 7. In terms of matches, they played total of 72 matches, winning 20 and losing 12 with 40 draws. In 1987, Pakistan went to India for five match series. It was Sunil Gavaskar's last test series. The first four test went draw but the final match was thriller. Pakistan scored 116 before India scored 145. Pakistan came back with 249 on board, giving the host a target of 220. India fell 16 runs short and the series was considered one of the best India-Pakistan series. In 1988, after West Indies tour where they drew 1–1, Pakistan were rated as No.1 Test team. It was one of greatest moments in their history.From 1990 to 1999, Pakistan did even better. They played 29 series, winning over 15 and losing 9 with 5 drawn. In terms of matches, they played 74, winning 40, losing 21 and drawing 13. In this period, the lowest point of for Pakistan came in 1998 where they lost to Zimbabwe 1–0 in three match series. The biggest moment came in Asian Test Championship in 1998 where they defeated Sri Lanka in the final by an innings and 175 runs.
21st century
In 2002, Pakistan participated in their second Asian Test Championship. It was originally planned to include all four Asian ICC full-members. However, before the tournament started, India's participation was put in doubt. After defeating Bangladesh in the 1st Test to meet Sri Lanka in the final, they were defeated by them by 8 wickets.A major controversy occurred in 2006 when the team toured England for a four-match Test series. England led the series 2–0 going into the final Test. In the first innings of that match, they were bowled out for 173 and Pakistan scored 504 in reply. In the second innings, after the dismissal of Alastair Cook for 83 off a reverse-swinging from Umar Gul, umpires Darrell Hair and Billy Doctrove called a halt to play as they adjudged Pakistan to be guilty of ball tampering. The ball was replaced and England was awarded 5 penalty runs. This event was the catalyst for the subsequent refusal to continue the match after tea by the Pakistan team. Based on the Laws of Cricket, the umpires declared Pakistan to have forfeited the game. The ICC later changed the result of the match to a draw, and subsequently reinstated the original result on 1 February 2009.