Pakistan cricket team is known to be mercurial on the international stage. Despite being led by legends like Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Younis Khan, Sarfaraz Ahmed and other countless names over the years, the South Asian nation has never been able to win a single knockout match against the Australians. Giving us a conclusion that the Shaheens may have the “AustralPhobia”.
What is AustralPhobia?
AustralPhobia means the “fear of Australians”, and since Pakistanis have had a history of losing close battles and getting deep heartbreaks from Australia, it seems fair to conclude that AustralPhobia is real.
History (The Series of Heartbreaks)
It all started back in 1987 when the fourth ODI World Cup of cricketing history took place. It was also the first World Cup which was not being hosted by England. The Pakistan Cricket Team and Australia met in the semifinal of the event. Pakistan being hot favourites was led by Imran Khan while Allan Border was captaining the Australian side. Kangaroos batted first and set a target of 268 (A score considered huge back then) and defeated the Shaheens by 18 runs in their backyard in Lahore.
12 years later, when the same two nations met in the final of the cricket World Cup 1999, it was again the side representing Green Star being considered the strong one, but what happened that day was a shock to every cricketing fan on the planet. They saw how the most destructive side of the tournament got destroyed by the kangaroos on the English soil as they got booked for only 132 runs which was easily chased down by the men in yellow.
These sides again locked horns 11 years later in the semifinal of the T20 World Cup of 2010. This time, although the odds were pretty even, it was Mike Hussey’s brilliance which made every Pakistan fan cry that day. Needing 18 runs in the very last over to chase down, Mike faced the challenge of Jaadugar Saeed Ajmal and guess what? It took Mike only 4 deliveries to turn the tables and place his side in the final of the tournament on Caribbean land.
Half a decade later, Misbah ul Haq’s men took the responsibility to turn history in the quarterfinal of the 2015 World Cup, but unfortunately, the luck was with Michael Clarke’s men. Despite Wahab Riaz’s fiery spell which scared every Australian batter out there, the game-changing point was a dropped catch from Rahat Ali which turned the tides in the favour of Australians.
Six years later, a fiery, undefeated, and history-making Pakistani side led by Babar Azam faced the struggling Kangaroos, in the semi-final of T20 World Cup 2021. This time the Shaheens did not doubt that they would defeat the men in yellow since they had already defeated their arch-rivals in the group stage, (A landmark that no Pakistani team had ever achieved before), but this time as social media memes call it, Mathew Wade came “Out of Syllabus” for Pakistan. After his catch was dropped by Hasan Ali, his ruthless sixes were enough to take the Aussies a step closer to their first-ever T20 title.
In February 2024, at the Under-19 level, the boys of these nations prepared for a semifinal to rewrite history like never before. Giving a target of 180, it seemed to be a piece of cake for the Australians, until a 15-year-old Ali Raza destroyed the kangaroos’ batting order and brought the match down the wire when Australia needed 3 to win in the last over, and Pakistan required only one wicket to win. In came the AustralPhobia, and the dream of defeating Australia in a knockout stage remained a dream.
Conclusion
With the history and heartbreaks that the Pakistan Cricket Team has had, it is with no doubt that this side does have an AustralPhobia, and it seems like the phobia has spread to the neighbouring country as well. With India losing 3 finals to Australia in the past year alone, it looks like, after the world’s first-ever Computer Virus, Pakistan should also get the credit for discovering the first-ever AustralPhobia as well.
