From playing in the first-ever ICC Cricket World Cup in 1975, to winning the trophy in 1992, here's a look back at the national team's journey through the mega tournament's history, in this three-part series.

1975

The ICC Cricket World Cup as we know it dates back to 1975, when the inaugural tournament, then dubbed 'Prudential Cup' after its sponsor, was hosted by England.

Pakistan were one of the eight teams that participated in the tournament, along with Australia, England, India, New Zealand, West Indies, Sri Lanka and a composite team from East Africa. South Africa, who were banned from international cricket due to apartheid, were a notable omission.

The Majid Khan-led Pakistan played three group matches, of which they won one (against Sri Lanka) and lost two (against Australia and West Indies).

England, New Zealand, West Indies and Australia qualified for the semifinals. Pre-tournament favourites West Indies defeated Australia in the final at Lord's by 17 runs to lift the first-ever World Cup trophy.

 

1979

The 1979 Cricket World Cup (which was also called Prudential Cup at the time) saw Pakistan, Australia, England, India, New Zealand, West Indies, Sri Lanka and Canada in action. The tournament was again won by the formidable Windies.

Pakistan, led by Asif Iqbal, progressed to the semifinals, where they lost to West Indies by 43 runs. The Windies posted a total of 293-6. Majid Khan's 81 (124) and Zaheer Abbas' 93 (122) went in vain as the rest of the batting lineup struggled and was all out 250.

Hosts England beat New Zealand in the other semifinal, but were given a 92-run thrashing by the Windies in the final.

1983

The 1983 Prudential Cup was hosted by England for the third consecutive time. England, India, Australia, Pakistan, West Indies, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe participated in the tournament, which was won by India.

In a déjà vu of the previous World Cup, Pakistan, this time led by Imran Khan, progressed to the semifinals after winning three matches and losing three in the group stage. They were again met by West Indies, who won the low-scoring fixture by eight wickets to qualify for the final. 

For Pakistan, Mohsin Khan was the top scorer with 70 off 176 in the team's total of 184-8, which was easily chased down by the Windies. Sir Viv Richards 80* and Larry Gomes 50* saw the chase through.

India under Kapil Dev's captaincy beat the Windies in the final to lift the trophy. 

1987

The 1987 World Cup (known as the Reliance Cup 1987) was jointly hosted by Pakistan and India - the first time the tournament was held outside England. The competition also saw the overs reduced from 60 to 50 per innings, which remains the standard to date.

The tournament was won, for the first time, by Australia, who beat arch-rivals England by seven runs in a nail-biting final at Kolkata's Eden Gardens.

Hosts Pakistan and India were both eliminated in the semifinals, by Australia and England, respectively. In the Lahore semifinal, Australia posted 267-8. Pakistan, again led by Imran Khan, were all out for 249 in the chase. Skipper Imran Khan took three wickets and scored 58, while Javed Miandad resisted with 70 runs. 

England beat India by 35 runs in the other semifinal.

1992

March 25, 1992 will forever invoke memories of the greatest moment in the history of Pakistan cricket.

On this day, then-captain and now Prime Minister Imran Khan’s “cornered tigers” beat England by 22 runs at a thundering Melbourne Cricket Ground to lift the Cricket World Cup trophy for the first - and to date - the only time in the nation's history. 

Wasim Akram was awarded Player of the Match for his 33 off 18 balls and three wickets for 49 runs.

Some photos from that unforgettable tournament:

To be continued..

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