5 teams that impressed but could not win the World Cup

#4 Pakistan 1999 World Cup

While there remained dark clouds over the tournament and how it ultimately unfolded for the Pakistani team, there were no doubts that they were thoroughly impressive. Coming out as victors of their group after winning against the eventual champions Australia with ease, the loss against minnows Bangladesh did not cause too much of a fuss.

A similar pattern followed in the super sixes when they led the table despite losing two matches, thus reaching the semis with aplomb. It was after their brushing aside of New Zealand in the semis that people thought they could see a repeat of 1992. But things turned out differently much to the horror of Pakistani fans, as they were humbled by the Aussies in the finals, who made light work of chasing a target of 132.

Looking at the squad at hand, Pakistan had a plethora of talent in their starting XI to add to the fact that greats like Waqar Younis and Mushtaq Ahmed had to bide time on the sidelines throughout the World Cup .

Younis featured just once due to the brilliant form of Shoaib Akhtar, Wasim Akram and the all-round display of Azhar Mahmood and Abdul Razzaq while Mushtaq was not even selected once due to the presence of Saqlain Mushtaq, who was on a different level altogether during the tournament.

There was no one force leading them to the finals like it happened 7 years back, when Imran Khan led them to glory almost through sheer will. This was a cohesive effort that saw them finish deserved runners-up. What eventually left a sour taste in the mouth, however, was the shock that the final provided, to the point that fans resorted to name-calling and alleged match-fixing against the team.