Javed Miandad, former Pakistan skipper and one of nation's finest-ever batsman, revealed he was battling a viral infection during the 1992 World Cup final against England, which Imran Khan's men eventually won to be crowned champions at the MCG.
Miandad, whose half-century and a middle-order partnership with the great Imran were crucial to Pakistan's cause, talked about the reason why he looked in discomfort while batting under the scorching sun in the first half.
Read Also: Javed Miandad names his favorite Indian cricketer
"When I look back at the video clippings of that final, I still can’t understand how we ended up winning that World Cup," Miandad said on his youtube channel. "When we were batting, we were losing wickets early, my only aim was to just stand there and not lose my wicket."
"I was in a lot of discomfort. I was down with a viral infection which affected my running. And if you remember correctly, I couldn’t even play my shots towards the end of the innings."
The 62-year-old recalled that he had no idea about the virus even after consulting doctors and went through the tournament despite his health issues.
“I couldn’t understand what exactly my problem was. I was infected with some peculiar virus because of which I used to sweat a lot," he added.
"I even consulted doctors but my condition towards the end of our innings in the final was such that I couldn’t play a shot, I was just standing there. At the other end, I had Imran (Khan). We forged a partnership and batted the full 50 overs to put up a respectable score."
After the first five games of the league-stage, Pakistan's only victory had come against Zimbabwe, but Imran never lost hope and kept the faith on his men as the cornered Tigers turned the campaign around, peaking just at the right time.
"The important thing was not to lose hope. Our captain Imran Khan had continuously stated from the beginning that we can win this world cup," Miandad said. "I remember, our captain Imran Khan at that time had a t-shirt which had an image of a tiger on it. He used to wear that throughout the World Cup even during practice session. He used to say, this is our symbol, we will fight like a tiger."
(Inputs from HT)
