Re: India vs England: 1st Test Match Lords
Well, well, an interesting debate. Let this old timer help you guys who was already in his mid seventies when that match took place!
For the sake of argument, let us assume that Pakistan had lost its match against England and that the result of all other matches following Eng-Pak clash remained the same. The next logical question is to determine whether Pakistan would have been able to proceed to semifinals under this scenario or not? The answer is NO. Not only Pakistan avoided a defeat against England, owing to rain, but more importantly they also earned a point that resulted in 9 points for Pakistan at the end of round matches. Had Pakistan lost its match against England, Pakistan would have tied with Aus and WI with 8 points each and would be knocked out due to poor run rate. I am relying on my memory but I am petty sure that my numbers are correct.
Coming back to current debate between khan sahib and Some1 jee, I truly believe that both of them are right and NO I am not trying to be political. YES, in retrospect, Eng-Pak match turned out to be crucial and therefore, Some1 has a valid point by stating that "Your country would not have won the World Cup had it not rained that day after your team was bundled out for 75”. But technically speaking khan sahib, who is almost always correct when it comes to cricket records/history, has a valid point that make or break match was the match against Australia.
Now if I were a judge and had to make the decision taking into account the background of discussion, India’s narrow escape from a certain defeat due to rain, I would have awarded this case in favor of Some1.