It’s not Pakistan versus Opposition but Pakistan versus Pakistan, says Ricky Ponting

Pakistan’s strange repetition of their 1992 mission in 2019 so far has left a lot of people flummoxed. Sarfaraz Ahmed’s side won their second successive game on Wednesday after losing to India and it was against New Zealand who were unbeaten thus far. The Men in Green’s sequence of match results in this World Cup has gone identical to the 1992 campaign and a lot of Pakistani supporters have started predicting their second title victory this year.

However, Pakistan are yet to go through to the semi-finals and besides winning their remaining two matches, they will also be praying that results in other games in the tournament go in their favour. They have seven points from as many games and are tied with Bangladesh. England, on the other hand, have eight from seven after two successive defeats while Sri Lanka have six in six.

While the World Cup has opened up because of Pakistan’s sudden resurgence, former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has come up with a unique observation on the 1992 champions. The two-time World Cup winning captain said: “Pakistan beats whoever they want to beat and they lose from whoever they want to. Its not Pakistan vs the opposition. Its Pakistan vs Pakistan,” he was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

The most unpredictable side in the world

Pakistan’s unpredictability is something that has always come up in discussion. Their captain Sarfaraz Ahmed has also been heard saying ahead of the tournament that the ‘unpredictable’ tag actually helps them. Their inconsistent campaign had indeed vindicated their unpredictability. While they stunned a strong England by 14 runs after getting thrashed by the West Indies by 7 wickets in their opening match, they beat South Africa and New Zealand in back-to-back games after losing to Australia and India that had pushed them on the brink.

India wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel also echoed Ponting’s thoughts ahead of the Pakistan-New Zealand match on Wednesday. Speaking on Star Sports during the pre-match analysis, the cricketer said that Pakistan’s main opponents are Pakistan themselves.

Also read – ICC World Cup 2019: Pakistan goes the 1992 way

The Men in Green next play Afghanistan in the World Cup while their final game is against Bangladesh and if England lose both their games and the Asian sides win their next games, that match promises to be a virtual quarter-final.