We were shocked by how Aamir Sohail was behaving in the 1996 World Cup quarterfinal: Waqar Younis

Former Pakistan pacer Waqar Younis was part of one of the most charged up encounters between India and Pakistan – the 1996 World Cup quarterfinal in Bangalore. Waqar Younis ended up on the losing end as India hammered their neighbours by 39 runs to enter the semi-finals.

The quarterfinal is most remembered for an explosive clash between Pakistan skipper Aamir Sohail and Indian pacer Venkatesh Prasad.

Chasing India’s 287/8, Pakistan were off to a flying start with Aamir Sohail putting on 84 runs for the first wicket with Saeed Anwar (48 off 32 balls) in the first 10 overs.

Aamir Sohail had just smashed Venkatesh Prasad to the boundary and reached 55 off 45 balls before losing his cool and his stumps went flying the next ball.

Waqar Younis opined that the dismissal of Aamir Sohail completely changed the complexion of the game and he was surprised by his skipper’s behaviour.

“To be very honest, we were shocked by the way he (Aamir Sohail) was behaving on the field. He was tonking the ball all over the park, why did he need to do that? I guess, the pressure got to him,” Waqar Younis said on The Greatest Rivalry podcast.

“He batted superbly, he was looking really good and I think he scored 55 off not many deliveries (55 off 46). And Saeed Anwar also. We lost our first wicket when Pakistan were 85-odd (84) in the first ten overs. We were cruising, and then once we lost Saeed Anwar and then Aamir Sohail straightaway, it just went wrong,” Waqar Younis added.

Waqar Younis, who turned out in 87 Tests and 262 ODIs for Pakistan, explained how the dismissal left a negative impact on the remainder of the Pakistan innings.

“Inzamam-ul-Haq and Ijaz Ahmed, they went into a shell. And full credit should be given to Anil Kumble, when he came in and Prasad came in for his second spell, he sort of started nipping the ball a little bit. And Pakistan got so much pressure and once we lost Ijaz and Inzamam within an over or so, it became very very difficult,” Waqar Younis said.

Waqar Younis was hammered all around the park by Ajay Jadeja

The former Pakistan captain was hammered by Ajay Jadeja in a late assault in the game as he conceded 67 runs in his quota of 10 overs while Jadeja scored a 25-ball 45 to propel India to a match-winning total.

“We made quite a few mistakes in that game. Javed Miandad was there, he could have gone in at number four but we kept him at number six, there was no use because he was approaching the end of his career. We kept him for very late, he should have batted at number four. Overall, a good game for cricket and India were well-deserved winners,” Waqar Younis said about the errors made by Pakistan in the game.