Men's Cricket World Cup 1992 – Overview
Dates: 22 February to 25 March 1992
Location: Australia and New Zealand
Number of teams: 9 – Zimbabwe qualified for the tournament for the third time after winning the 1990 ICC Trophy, while South Africa made their World Cup debut as a Full Member after the ICC granted them Test status after the end of apartheid.
Overs per innings: 50
Number of matches: 39
Format: Round-robin format, with each team playing every other team. The top four progressed to the knockout stage to play the semi-finals.
**Semi-finals:**Having won seven matches and losing just one to Pakistan, New Zealand were again thwarted by Imran Khan's men. At Auckland's Eden Park, the home side set Pakistan a competitive target of 263, thanks to Martin Crowe's brisk 83-ball 91 and a measured half-century from Ken Rutherford. However, a 22-year-old Inzamam-ul-Haq blazed away to a fiery 37-ball 60 to control a successful chase and seal a four-wicket win.
At the Sydney Cricket Ground, rain reduced the game to 45 overs a side. England, led by Graeme Hick (83), posted 252/6 batting first. South Africa were on track in their chase and had reached 231/6 after 42.5 overs when it started pouring again. However, after play resumed, South Africa were left chasing the same target, but with two overs deducted. It meant they had to score 22 runs off the last ball and their dream of making their first World Cup appearance a special one was crushed.
**Final:**It was Imran's day. He enjoyed a bit of luck, made runs for his team, followed it up with England's final wicket, lifted the coveted trophy and bid goodbye to international cricket in style. At the MCG, Pakistan were reduced to 24/2.
The onus was on Imran and Javed Miandad to steady the innings, and they did just that. The Pakistan captain, dropped by Graham Gooch on just nine, went on to top-score for his team with 72, and powered them to 249/6. England too lost early wickets, and with Wasim Akram taking 3/49, they were bowled out for 227, as Pakistan were crowned world champions for the first time.
Top run-scorer: Martin Crowe – 456 runs
Top wicket-taker: Wasim Akram – 18 wickets
Player of the Series: Martin Crowe
Retirements: Imran Khan, Ian Smith, Peter Taylor, Bruce Raid, Kris Srikkanth,
World Cup song: Who Rules The World