It has been 60 hours since the World Cup final ended, and I am still reeling at the result. But I can't keep ranting about luck, whether bad or good, destiny, rules, karma, and all that ... I already had a good rant on Twitter.

Now it is time to take stock of what happened, get over it, and reflect on this ICC World Cup 2019.

Some thoughts, a lot of ramblings, in no particular order ...

The World Cup Overall
What a tournament! Congrats to the ICC on producing one of the best World Cups ever. For a long time I have maintained that my favorite World Cup was 1992. The fact that Pakistan won aside, it was the best format ever used and produced very exciting cricket with every result mattering.

2019 is right up there for me. Not a single dull moment (barring the washed out games with no reserve days). What fabulous entertainment. Every match mattered, every result mattered, every run mattered, every wicket mattered, and at the end even every boundary mattered!

The best!

The Final
England and New Zealand produced the best World Cup Final ever. Perhaps the best ODI match ever.

Kumar Dharmasena
I have no idea how he is among the top 2 umpires in the world. If his stats prove that he is, then he is surely like South Africa of the old, or India of the new, who perform all the time, but choke when it truly counts.

Pathetic performance in the semi final and final.

Chris Gayle
Sad to see such an icon of white ball cricket depart the World Cup stage without setting it on fire. The only time he performed perhaps kicked Pakistan out of the competition.

Shakib Al Hasan
Talk about rising to the occasion. He has forever been the world's number one allrounder in limited overs cricket. He has always performed for his team. But never has he shone like he did in this World Cup. Runs, wickets, he produced it all.

Player of the tournament for me.

India vs England
I have heard so many conspiracies about this one. India did not chase to screw Pakistan. India did not chase to make it easier for England to qualify for the semi finals. MS Dhoni did not chase to screw Pakistan because of his affiliation with the Indian army.

All bullshit in my opinion.

India is not as strong as everyone is making them out to be. Sure Dhoni's tactics seemed questionable but you know what? Even had he tried, India would not have been able to chase down that total! The semi final against New Zealand is proof of that. The entire World Cup is proof of that with only one successful 300+ chase.

Bangladesh
Quite a tournament they had. Their best World Cup to date, but still a long way to go before they become a consistent threat to the leading teams.

Afghanistan
Overrated, overzealous, overconfident, outspoken, underperformers.

Babar Azam
This was a coming of age tournament for him. He is only 24, mind you. He rose to the occasion and performed like Pakistan's most dependable batsman throughout the World Cup. That match winning century against the best bowling attack in the world was for me the innings of the World Cup.

No one else scored a 100 against New Zealand's attack like Babar did. Yes Bairstow did, but Ferguson did not play that match. No one else chased a total against New Zealand the way Babar did. He is a superstar.

ICC Rules
Require a major rethink.

Think about this: Never in the history of ODI cricket has a team been declared a winner after being bowled out in a run chase.

India
The new chokers of World Cricket? Two World Cup Semi Finals lost. Champions Trophy Final lost. World T20 Final lost. World T20 Semi Final lost. All this in the past 5 years.

This is probably outdoing South Africa's chokes!

Virat Kohli
The best batsman in the world, but his scores in the 3 ODI chokes mentioned above: 1, 1, 5. He seems out of depth as captain. Looks like he is just a shadow and Dhoni is doing all the captaining. I feel like he will struggle with captaining the side once Dhoni retires.

Jason Roy
My favorite batsman. I loved every bit of his batting this World Cup. I believe that he makes all the difference to this England team. Without him, they are not the same at all. He scores and England wins.

He failed against Pakistan; England lost.
He failed in the World Cup Final; England just about tied the match.
He did not play against Sri Lanka and Australia; England lost.

In all other games that England won comprehensively, Roy's scores: 54, 153, 66, 60, 85. It is quite remarkable that all of his 9 ODI centuries and 14 out of his 18 ODI fifties have resulted in wins for England.

South Africa
Forget choking, they just failed to arrive this time.

Mohammad Hafeez, MS Dhoni, Hashim Amla
Why didn't they announce their ODI retirements?

Lasith Malinga
Even with that belly he produced some manic fast bowling spells. Champion bowler.

Ben Stokes
What a performer! What a cricketer! This World Cup was a true redemption story for him. Dropped for World Cup 2015, taken apart by Carlos Brathwaite in World T20 Final 2016, failed against Pakistan in CT17 Semi Final, and now Man of the Match in the Final of ICC World Cup 2019.

Turnarounds can be magical! He also took the catch of the World Cup!

Australia
What does one say about a team that reaches the final four stage of a World Cup even with an average team. Eternal Champions.

Shaheen Afridi
Find of the tournament? No. He was found well before the tournament. He had a great start to his international career before he hit a stumbling block in matches leading up to the World Cup. He was quite off in his initial WC matches, but then turned it around like a champ.

He was super in Pakistan's last three matches and showed that he can be a true star for the greens!

Mitchell Starc
Almost 50 wickets in two World Cups. Bowlers have not reached that tally in 4 World Cups! He's superb and probably uses the yorker more effectively than any modern day fast bowler.

Also bowled the ball of the World Cup to Ben Stokes.

Martin Guptill
Must suck to be him right now. Poor guy had a terrible World Cup with the bat. And yet he was there needing to score 2 of the final ball of the World Cup to win it for New Zealand.

The best thing he did all World Cup was a throw that caught Dhoni out of his crease and propelled New Zealand to their second successive World Cup Final. And then in the Final, it was his throw that ... I don't even want to say it!

Sri Lanka
Performed way better than expected.

West Indies
Performed way worse than expected. To think some thought they may win this!

Trent Boult
He may have only heard that cricket can be such a leveler, till he experienced it. He caught a ball inches away from the boundary to help New Zealand beat West Indies - in hindsight that catch got New Zealand into the final four. In the World Cup Final, he caught the ball and stepped on the boundary - that lost NZ the World Cup.

He bowled at a phenomenal economy rate of 4.8 throughout the World Cup. But his last 2 overs of the World Cup went for 15 runs each!

Alex Carey
True find of the World Cup. Another champion cricketer produced by Australia. At the start of the World Cup I questioned why he was Australia's first choice wicket keeper. He answered that quite aptly with the bat on multiple occasions.

His stock rose so significantly that Australia promoted him to #5 in the Semi Final!

Pakistan
What does one say about them that hasn't already been said. Ricky Ponting put it best, it is Pakistan vs Pakistan. But undoubtedly, I reckon this was their best World Cup campaign this century and they were very unlucky not to qualify for the Semi Finals.

England vs Sri Lanka
Was it fixed like Rashid Latif alleged? Who knows. Maybe the ICC, the broadcasters and TV Channels, and ECB colluded to provide the World Cup with some impetus. Or maybe not, but games like this is why this format is the best for a World Cup. Made every match count after this one.

Mohammad Aamir
Another redemption story. Handful of wickets at an average of over 90 in the two years before the World Cup, and ended the World Cup as one of the leading wicket takers. Hopefully this is the start of some magical Aamir years with the ball.

Micheal Vaughan
Loved his tweets throughout the World Cup!

Jofra Archer
Another find of the World Cup. Never before has an England bowler shone like this at a World Cup. Only 24 and he is their leader. So much so that he was given the ball for the Final Super Over too. Superstar in the making.

Edgbaston, Birmingham
I have never experienced a crowd like that ever inside a stadium. I've been to cricket matches all over the world in the past 30 years; Edgbaston for Pakistan vs New Zealand was the absolute best!

Kane Williamson
What a Gentleman. What a Cricketer. What a Captain. What a Batsman. What a Human Being. And he is only 28! I wish he wins a World Cup. He made me question whether all that was luck or captaincy tactics that got New Zealand over the line every single time.

He deserved to lift the World Cup Trophy, and I hope that he lifts one in his career!

Sanjay Manjerekar
What a waste of space. If fan boys are allowed to be commentators, what about me? I hope I never have to listen to his voice ever again!

Lockie Ferguson
The world has a new express fast bowler!

Rishabh Pant
What was the fuss all about really? His List A average is 30. His ODI average is under 30. Why is he an ODI number 4? What was all the hype about?

New Zealand
I don't even know where to start. The Kiwis played with my emotions more than Pakistan did.

At first, I thought they did not deserve to be in the World Cup Semi Finals. I felt they were a below average side, had won against weaker teams, got lucky against average teams, lost to all the strong teams, and got lucky to get a free point against India.

Then, after they beat India in the Semi Final and the way they did it, I was turned. I was a fan. Kane Williamson had completely impressed me with his captaincy and calmness. Now I wanted them to win the World Cup.

And they would have had it not been for some really cruel shit. Forget about the rules and the super over and boundaries. That throw from Guptill ... sigh. How cruel can cricket be.

I was as sad for New Zealand as I have ever been for Pakistan. They did nothing wrong. Played the best cricket possible. Did not lose the Final, yet lost the World Cup. Tragic. Just Tragic!

England
If there is anything such as destiny, this is it. If there was ever a team destined for something, this is it. Congratulations to them for this World Cup win and for inspiring millions through their amazing turnaround story.

Kicked out of World Cup 2015 in the league phase, England planned to become team supreme in white ball cricket. The last 4 years was the build up, and this is their moment to cherish. They have been the world's leading ODI unit for over two years and now they have a World Cup trophy to show for it.

The players would be happy no doubt. But it is really the fans who will be cherishing this win more than anyone. Some of them have waited for 44 years to witness this day!

England finally have a World Cup trophy, but they still cannot say that they have won a World Cup Final!

My World Cup XI
Rohit Sharma, Jason Roy, Kane Williamson, Babar Azam, Shakib Al Hasan, Ben Stokes, Alex Carey, Mitchell Starc, Lockie Ferguson, Jasprit Bumrah, Shaheen Afridi

The ICC World Cup 2019 gets underway in a week from now when hosts England square off against South Africa. The previous two World Cups were won by the host nations - India in 2011 and Australia in 2015 - and this time, it is also the host nation that goes into the 6-week tournament as firm favorites to lift the trophy for the very first time.

England have played 3 ICC World Cup finals, finishing runners up every single time. This cup is there for the taking for the world's number one ODI team.

But will they be able to?

They were firm favorites to win the ICC Champions Trophy too in 2017, but stumbled against a rampaging Pakistan in the semifinal.

The bookies have England as the favorites, followed by India and Australia.

Looking at the teams' form since the previous World Cup in 2015, it is apparent why England are favorites.


England and India are in a different league altogether. The best ODI sides around currently and I feel there will be nothing stopping them from making the semifinals of World Cup 2019.

While Australia is a third favorite of the bookies, their overall performance since 2015 has left a lot to be desired. But they have recently picked up their performances after the team settled down following the 12 month absence of Steve Smith and David Warner.

With both Smith and Warner back in the fold, Australia will be a strong contender.

South Africa and New Zealand are quite consistent as well and New Zealand had their best run ever in the previous World Cup. The black caps can never be ruled out in a tournament.

South Africa somehow win a lot of bilateral ODIs but when it comes to World Cups, they are the eternal chokers.

Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and the West Indies are not to be ignored but it does not seem like either team has it in them to win 6-7 matches consistently to vie for a semi final spot.

This leaves us with the perennial unpredictables - Pakistan.

Barring the Champions Trophy win in 2017, Pakistan have been quite atrocious in ODIs since World Cup 2015. They have not won much and more than 90% of their ODI wins over the past 4 years have come against low ranked teams like Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. When you look at ODIs against the top 5-6 sides, Pakistan have won just a handful of games.

But then, one can never rule out Pakistan in a tournament like this.

I feel England and India will go into the semifinals with a lot of one-sided victories and it will be left to the middle tablers - Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Pakistan - to fight it out for the other two semifinal spots.

And then when in the final four, it is anyone's game really.

I am backing Australia and Pakistan to join England and India in the final four of the ICC World Cup 2019.

Pakistan will likely qualify as the 4th team and play their semifinal against host England, leaving India and Australia fighting it out in the other semifinal.

That will surely make for great viewing.

As everyone keeps saying, after the semifinals it is anyone's game, but I feel it very strongly that it will be Pakistan.

Not because Pakistan won the 1992 World Cup after Australia and India won the previous two in 1987 and 1983 respectively.

Not because Pakistan won the World T20 in England and the Champions Trophy in England so its time to win the World Cup in England.

Not because the 9th year of every decade sees a Pakistan team in the final - 1999, 2009, ...

I feel it will be Pakistan because I feel Pakistan's bowling will be tough to crack. With the pitches conducive to 300+ scores, as the English summer moves forward the pitches will wear out and spin will play a big role.

Pakistan have the services of Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, and Mohammad Hafeez who can be very tough to get away.

With all teams finding it easy to score heavily, the team with good bowling will come out on top more often than not.

We all saw Pakistani bowlers get plastered by England in the recent ODI series but Mohammad Aamir and Shadab Khan were missing from that series. These two, along with Hafeez, are among the most economical bowler in ODIs.

Pakistan's batting seems to have come to terms with the requirements of modern day ODI cricket, but with their bowling in full form, the boys in green will be a force to reckon with in World Cup 2019!

The world is coming down
The flags are up
Whose gonna be number one
Whose gonna take out the cup
Who will it be?
Who will be the King?
It is a once in a lifetime chaaaaance
Who'll rule the world
Gotta see who'll rule the world


25th March 1992.

Today marks the 25th anniversary of that magical World Cup win for Pakistan. After all these years, I have that day (and the days leading up to it) engraved in memory.

No one expected Pakistan to be in the Final in 1992, let alone win it. It was a typical Pakistani comeback and win, a win against all the odds, a win when no one expected it, a win that placed Pakistan at the top of the world.

Around the middle of the World Cup 1992, I remember Newspaper headlines saying "Pakistan going home early", "Pakistan's World Cup chances over", "Imran Khan's dream ends". Everyone thought Pakistan's World Cup campaign was over.

Except Imran Khan. He kept saying that this World Cup was Pakistan's.

It is quite possible that because of that improbable World Cup win (and Miandad's 6 in 1986) that some Pakistan cricket fans today still believe that the impossible is achievable in every game Pakistan plays.

The passion still burns with abundance fire!

I remember the day before the final in 1992. After coming back from school, I begged my parents to let me skip school the next day, a Wednesday (25.03.1992) so that I could watch the final.

I don't think I have ever asked my parents to let me skip school with an honest reason. It was always "pait ka dard"!

But this was cricket. It was the World Cup. It was the Final. And it was Pakistan!

My parents firmly said no.

The match was supposed to start in the morning around the time I would leave for school.

I begged and cried to no avail.

I went to bed that night sulking thinking I'll miss Pakistan's most important cricket match ever.

As on every other school day, my mother woke me up on the morning of 25th March 1992.

As I glanced towards the wall clock, it was past the time that school would start.

I don't think I have ever woken up happier.

I don't know which one of my parents decided that I could skip school that day, but I did. As did my brother.

My father skipped work. As did many of his friends, a lot of whom were over at our place in Abu Dhabi, ready for Pakistan's biggest game ever.

We were all glued to Channel 33, the lifeline of Television in the UAE in those days; it provided all of our entertainment from cartoons, to soap operas, comedy shows, Bollywood movies, Wimbledon finals, and now the final of the World Cup 1992.

All the way from Imran Khan sporting a white t-shirt with a tiger on it to what he said at the toss ...


... the quick loss of Rameez Raja and Aamer Sohail, Imran Khan and Javed Miandad's partnership, Imran's six, Miandad's reverse sweep, Inzamam Ul Haq and Wasim Akram's aggressive finish ...


... Botham's dismissal and Aamer Sohail's finger pointing, Mushtaq Ahmed's spell, Aaquib Javed's catch, Wasim Akram's two magical deliveries ...



... Moin Khan's catch and run-out, Rameez Raja's catch, Aamer Sohail and Zahid Fazal's sajdas, Imran Khan's raised arms ...


... Imran and Miandad's hug, Wasim Akram's man of the match award ...


... Imran Khan lifting the World Cup and his speech ...


... everything, absolutely everything is engraved in memory even today.

I even remember the scorecard of the match!

What a day it was.

When it all ended, the evening was spent rejoicing. Even more so because Thursday and Friday was the weekend so school was far far away :-)


There was no internet back then so we had to wait the next day for the newspaper to land at our doorstep to read all the coverage.

I still have the front page of Khaleej Times from the morning after, 26th March 1992.


Pakistan was indeed on top of the world.

It has been 25 years, but the memories are still fresh.

25th March 1992.

It was an unforgettable day! Pakistan's most memorable day of cricket!