England and Pakistan will feature in a Cricket World Cup Final after 30 long years, at the same venue they clashed in 1992 – the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
Pakistan led by Imran Khan, who later became the country’s Prime Minister, went on to beat Graham Gooch’s Englishmen comprehensively to lift the ODI (50 Over) World Cup for the first time.
Pakistan’s progress to the final then was uncannily similar to its zig-zag advancement in the current WC T20 tournament. Then too, the side lost even to the less fancied teams like in the present case but saw its fortunes suddenly change to take it to semi finals thanks to a sterling knock by the burly Inzamam ul-Haq.
The final at the MCG was memorable for many reasons. It signalled the exit of the legendary Sir Ian Botham from international cricket and was also the final appearance of Imran Khan himself for his country.
The game itself was noted for that exceptional bowling feat by the exceptionally talented Wasim Akram whose reverse swing proved too much for the Englishmen .
Will there be a repeat of 1992 tomorrow or will the Englishmen prevail, giving them their second T20 World Cup trophy in the tournament’s brief history? Catch all the action from 12 noon tomorrow as England take on Pakistan.