The present, on-going T20 World Cup is the seventh one to be held following the event's initiation in 2007. As cricket has evolved newer versions of the game have emerged to extend its popularity and to lure more countries and bigger audiences into its net. The T20 format is an interesting configuration, that even TV audiences can watch in a single sitting, and it has developed a large following within a brief period of time.The first T20 World Cup was held in South Africa in September 2007. The 12 participants included all ten Test playing nations of the time along with the top two teams from a qualifying tournament preceding the main event. The teams were divided into 4 groups of 3 each with Pakistan, captained by Shoaib Malik, placed in Group D alongside India and Scotland. They easily defeated Scotland but their match against India ended in a tie with both sides scoring 141 in their allotted 20 overs. Pakistan's main performers were Misbah-ul-Haq who scored 53 and Mohammad Asif who took 4 wickets for 18 runs. The match was decided by a "bowl out" which India won 3-0, as their bowlers hit the wicket each time in their 3 ball quota, while Pakistan's bowlers drew three blanks.

Both teams proceeded to the Super 8s where Pakistan's group included Australia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. They won all three matches, with fifties from Shoaib Malik and Misbah against Sri Lanka and Australia respectively.

In the semifinals Pakistan overcame New Zealand, aided by Imran Nazir who scored 59 and Umar Gul who snared three wickets for 15 runs. The final saw Pakistan play India for the second time in the tournament. India batted first and made 157 for 5, centred around an innings of 75 by Gautam Gambhir. Pakistan fell behind the necessary run rate and needed 54 from the last 24 balls but three sixes by Misbah in a Harbhajan Singh over and two by Sohail Tanvir against Sreesanth brought Pakistan close to their target. Thirteen runs were required from the final over. A wide and then a six by Misbah left 6 runs to be scored from the last 4 balls. Misbah now attempted a paddle sweep over fine leg but ended up skying an easy catch to the short fine leg fielder and Pakistan were all out for 152, thus losing by 5 runs.

The 2nd T20 World Cup took place in England in June 2009. Zimbabwe withdrew for political reasons and the remaining nine Test playing countries were joined by three associate nations who gained entry through qualifiers.

The twelve teams were divided into four groups, with Pakistan sharing Group B with England and the Netherlands. A comprehensive victory over Netherlands and a 48 run loss to England gave Pakistan second position in the group enabling them to qualify for the Super 8s. Here their group included New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Ireland. Despite a fifty from their captain Younis Khan, Pakistan were beaten in their opening game by Sri Lanka, managing only 131 for 9 in reply to Sri Lanka's 150 for 7. Pakistan's fate now hinged on their match with New Zealand. In a complete reversal of form they skittled out the Kiwis for just 99 runs in 18.3 overs, with an outstanding bowling performance from Umar Gul who came on to bowl after the 12th over and took 5 wickets for just 6 runs in a marvelous display of speed, accuracy and late swing. Pakistan reached their target off just 13.1 overs and followed this victory with an easy win over Ireland to reach the semifinals.

In the semis South Africa was edged out by seven runs as they could only make 142 for 5 in reply to Pakistan's 149 for 4. Shahid Afridi was the architect of Pakistan's victory, scoring 51 and taking 2 for 16 from his four overs. The final was against Sri Lanka who had beaten Pakistan in the group stages. The Lankans batted first and were soon in trouble at 2 wickets for 2 runs after just 9 balls. An unbeaten 7th wicket stand of 68 between Sangakkara and Matthews gave their final total of 138 for 6 some respectability, but a rampant Pakistan side overcame this comfortably, reaching their target for the loss of just 2 wickets with Afridi making 54. Pakistan were now the World T20 champions.

The 3rd World Cup was held in the West Indies in the summer of 2010. Pakistan were led by Shahid Afridi, and in the initial group stages, despite losing to Australia, qualified for the Super 8s with a convincing win against Bangladesh. In this round they were placed in a tough group with England, New Zealand and South Africa and began with two narrow defeats. England beat them with just 3 balls to spare, while New Zealand prevailed by a solitary run as Pakistan made 132 for 7 in reply to the Kiwis total of 133 for 7. However, an innings of 51 from Umar Akmal and 4 wickets for 26 by Saeed Ajmal gained Pakistan a well fought win over South Africa. Though Pakistan, New Zealand and South Africa all finished with 2 points each, Pakistan progressed to the semifinals because of a better run rate.

In the semis Pakistan again met Australia and put up a formidable total of 191 for 6, with fifties from the Akmal brothers Kamran and Umar. In reply Australia looked beaten at 105 for 5 after 12.3 overs, when Michael Hussey came to the crease. He proceeded to launch a savage, calculated assault scoring 60 runs from just 24 deliveries with 3 fours and 6 sixes. 34 runs were scored from the last 11 balls as Australia got home with one ball to spare. Pakistan were totally gutted and out of the World Cup.

The 4th World Cup was staged in September/October 2012 in Sri Lanka. Pakistan, captained by Mohammad Hafeez did well in the early group stages, qualifying for the Super 8's with comfortable wins against New Zealand and Bangladesh. In the Super 8's Pakistan's group also included Australia, India and South Africa.

They started with a narrow win over South Africa with 2 balls to spare but were then easily defeated by India by 8 wickets. In their final group match versus Australia Pakistan scored 149 for 6 with Nasir Jamshed making 55. The Australian response contained another wonderful fifty from Michael Hussey but the remaining batsmen were totally clueless against Pakistan's spin trio of Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Hafeez and Raza Hasan and could only manage a total of 117 for 7 from 20 overs. Pakistan, Australia and India all had 4 points from their 3 matches, but India were eliminated because of a poorer run rate.

In the semifinals, against the hosts Sri Lanka, Pakistan put up a woeful performance. Replying to a modest Lankan total of 139 for 4, they could only manage a meager 123 for 7, despite a captain's innings of 42 from Mohammad Hafeez. Pakistan had become the first team to qualify for four consecutive T20 World Cup semifinals but their 2012 campaign could not progress beyond this stage.

The 5th T20 World Cup was held in Bangladesh in March/April 2014 with an altered format. Sixteen teams participated, comprising the ten full member nations and six associate members countries. The top eight ranking nations went directly to the Super 10 stage, while two of the other eight participants gained entry to this round through qualifying matches.

In the Super 10s Pakistan, again led by Mohammad Hafeez, were placed in Group 2, along with Australia, West Indies, India and Bangladesh. After losing timidly to India by 7 wickets in their opening match, Pakistan rallied with resounding wins against Australia and Bangladesh. Umar Akmal was the star versus Australia with a 54 ball knock of 94 that included 9 fours and 4 sixes, while Shahzad was the hero against Bangladesh, scoring 111 from just 62 balls with 10 fours and 5 sixes. Pakistan's final match in the Super 10's was against West Indies and Pakistan needed a win to qualify for the semifinals. West Indies posted a total of 166 for 6, with the last 85 runs coming off just 36 balls. Pakistan's reply was calamitous as they crumbled to 82 all out from 17.5 overs. This tame capitulation led to Pakistan's exit at this stage.

The 6th edition of the T20 World Cup was staged in India in March/April 2016 on a similar pattern to the previous one. Pakistan, under Shahid Afridi, were placed in Group 2, which also included New Zealand, India, Australia and Bangladesh. They began on a promising note with a comprehensive victory over Bangladesh in their initial match. Their score of 201 was their highest ever in a T20 World Cup and contained fifties by Hafeez and Shahzad. However, this was followed by three successive defeats against India, New Zealand and Australia, leading to their elimination from the tournament.

The 7th T20 World Cup is being held in 2021 after a gap of 5 years. It could not be held in 2018 because many member nations were busy with bilateral commitments, pushing the tournament forward to 2020 with Australia as the prospective hosts. However, the COVID pandemic necessitated further postponement till 2021, and with Australian borders largely closed, hosting rights were transferred to India. India itself experienced a bad COVID wave in early 2021 and decided to relocate the tournament to the UAE.

The eight top ranked nations qualified directly for the Super 12 stage, while the other eight teams competed for the four remaining spots. Pakistan was placed directly in Group 2 of the Super 12s, the other teams in this group being India, New Zealand, Afghanistan, Namibia and Scotland.

Pakistan began with a near perfect performance in their opening match against India. Shaheen Afridi, employing late left arm swing and bowling a perfect length at high pace, unsettled the much acclaimed Indian top order. India were 6 for 2 after just 13 balls and never recovered from this initial shock, ending on 151 for 7. Pakistan opened with the captain Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan who combined in a chanceless unbeaten partnership of 152, providing Pakistan with its first ever 10 wicket win in T20's and inflicting on India its first T20 loss by such a margin . Babar made 68 while Rizwan's contribution was 79. This was also the first time that Pakistan had beaten India in 13 attempts in any World Cup match. This opening stand was also the highest first wicket partnership ever recorded in a T20 World Cup.

In their next outing Pakistan beat New Zealand after restricting the Kiwis to just 134 for 8 from 20 overs. Haris Rauf, whose first ball was a 149 kph yorker, took 4 wickets for 22 runs in a display of extreme pace cleverly mixed with well-disguised slower balls. Pakistan reached their victory target with 8 balls to spare. Against Afghanistan Pakistan recorded their third consecutive win. After the Afghan team had put up a creditable score of 147 for 6, Pakistan were 124 for 5 after 18 overs, needing 24 runs from 12 balls for victory. Asif Ali bailed them out with 4 sixes in the 19th over, as a hapless bowling side watched the match slip out of their grasp. Babar Azam also made a useful 51 and in the process became the fastest player to reach 1000 runs in T20 Internationals as a captain, taking only 26 innings to do so. When he snapped Najibullah Zardan as his 39th victim behind the stumps in 2021, Rizwan equaled Dhoni's record of most T20 wicketkeeping dismissals in a calendar year.

In their next match against Namibia Pakistan set up a score of 189 for 2, overwhelming Namibia by 45 runs. This innings contained yet another century partnership between Rizwan, who scored 79, and Babar, who scored 70, making it their 5th century opening stand in T20 Internationals, which is a world record.

Pakistan's final group match was against Scotland where they again posted a score of 189, albeit for the loss of 4 wickets this time. Scotland's reply of 117 gave Pakistan a comprehensive 72 run win. Babar with 66 scored his 4th fifty of the tournament equaling the record for the highest number of fifties in a single edition of a T20 World Cup. This was also his 15th fifty-plus score in T20 Internationals as a captain, which is another record, ahead of Virat Kohli's 13. With this knock Babar also broke Kohli's record for the most T20 fifties in a calendar year, this being his 19th while Kohli had scored 18 in his halcyon year of 2016. Shoaib Malik made 54 off just 18 deliveries to set a new Pakistan record for the fastest T20 fifty in terms of balls faced. Rizwan's score of 15 took his T20 tally for 2021 to 1676 runs, overtaking Chris Gayle's previous record of 1665 runs for the highest number of runs in all T20's in a calendar year.

Pakistan faced Australia in the semifinals. Put in to bat they began with a solid stand of 71 between Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan. The 411 runs added by this pair in partnership in this tournament is the highest by any pair in a T20 World Cup. Babar also became the fastest batsman to reach 2500 runs in T20 Internationals, doing so in only 62 innings, beating Kohli's record of getting here in 68 outings. Rizwan, who scored 67, became the first batsman to reach 1000 runs in T20 internationals alone in a calendar year. So far, he has scored 1033 runs in these Internationals in 2021. Pakistan finished on 176 for 4 after a late flourish by Fakhar Zaman who was unbeaten with 55 from just 32 deliveries.

In reply Australia were in trouble at 96 for 5, with Shadab Khan taking four of the five wickets to fall. His final tally of 4 for 26 represents the best bowling figures in a T20 World Cup semifinal. However, a spectacular 81 run partnership between Marcus Stoinis and Matthew Wade got Australia past the winning post, with Wade ending the match sensationally, hitting three consecutive sixes off the last three balls of the nineteenth over.

Though they missed out on the finals, Pakistan's performance in this World Cup has been superb and augurs well for the future. Their batting is blessed with depth and is capable of exhibiting the grace and elegance of orthodox stroke play as well as exquisite power hitting. Their bowling line-up offers high quality pace and swing, as well as considerable variety and skill in spin. Pakistan may indeed just be on the verge of a great new era in the white ball version of the game.

Dr Salman Faridi is a senior surgeon, poet, sports aficionado and an avid reader with a private collection of over 7000 books.

salmanfaridilnh@hotmail.com