India vs Pakan: Rashid Latif says 1996 World Cup quarterfinal loss at Bengaluru was painful | Cricket News
India vs Pakan: Former Pakan captain Rashid Latif says the loss against India in the quarterfinals of the 1996 World Cup in Bengaluru still haunts him and called it one of his worst memories in his cricketing career.
“The loss against India in the quarterfinals of the 1996 World Cup in Bengaluru. It still haunts me. When I returned home to Karachi, I used to wake up at night,” Latif said on Geo News show “Hasna Mana Hai.”
“We lost in the 2003 ODI World Cup as well, but that loss in Bengaluru was painful.
Story continues below this ad
“The kind of start Aamer Sohail and Saeed Anwar gave us, we failed to capitalize on that,” he said.
Batting first, India posted 187 for 8. Navjot Singh Sidhu scored a remarkable 93, but it was Ajay Jadeja’s innings that proved to be the difference. Jadeja smashed a 25-ball 45, including his onslaught against Waqar Younis, whose first eight overs had yielded 27 runs, but whose final two were smashed for 22 and 18 respectively.
Today in @bira91’s @cricketworldcup Greatest Moments we have Ajay Jadeja’s cameo of 45 off 25 for India against Pakan in the 1996 quarter-finals, 40 of them off Waqar Younis! pic.twitter.com/mV978wICnq
— ICC (@ICC) March 27, 2019
“Ajay’s knock was terrific. That was the game-changing knock, but we were in the game,” he said.
The match is also fondly remembered as a battle between Pakan’s stand-in captain Aamer Sohail and Indian pacer Venkatesh Prasad. Pakan were off to a blazing start as Sohail and Anwar had put on 84 runs for the opening wicket in 10 overs. Despite losing Anwar, Sohail kept the run rate up. He took aim at Prasad after scoring a boundary, and the Indian bowler had the last laugh as he not only dismissed Sohail but also gave him a send-off.
In that match, Pakan’s then-captain Wasim Akram didn’t play due to a side strain.Story continues below this ad
When coaxed anchor Tabish Hashmi about why Wasim didn’t play in that crucial match, Rashid said, “Aap ye Wasim bhai se pooch le (You should ask this to Wasim Akram).”
Anchor Tabish Hashmi immediately replied, “He said he was unfit.”
Rashid Latif then replied, “No comments,” with a smile on his face.
