Karachi. The Pakistan cricket world called the defeat at the hands of debutant USA in the ICC T20 World Cup as unexpected and termed it a ‘black day’ for the team. USA caused the biggest upset of this World Cup by defeating former champion Pakistan in a match that went till super over at Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas. Former captain Younis Khan said that the Pakistan team made many strategic mistakes in this match, for which they had to pay the price.
Younis said, “Fakhar Zaman should have taken the strike when the left-arm bowler was bowling in the super over. Anyone can learn from such a bad day and I hope Babar Azam and other players will now take every match as a do or do situation.” According to Younis, the most disappointing thing was that a large number of people of Pakistani origin live in America, who are supporting the team wholeheartedly. Fast bowler Wasim Akram called the team’s performance pathetic. He said, “It did not seem that Pakistan was playing against a team that has not got much chance to play against top teams.”
Former opener Mohsin Khan said that he is worried about the future of Pakistan cricket. He said, “This is not just a defeat, it shows the mental weakness of our players. I don’t know what is happening but somewhere I feel that our players underestimated America.” Mohsin was the head coach and chief selector from 2010 to 2012. He said that the upcoming match against India has become a do or die match for the team. Mohsin said, “We have to win that match at any cost, otherwise we will be out of the Super Eight.”
In reply to Pakistan’s 159 runs for 7 wickets, the US team scored 159 runs for 3 wickets. After this, in reply to America’s 18 runs in the super over, Pakistan could score only 13 runs. Cricket analyst Omair Alvi said, “This is a black day in the history of Pakistan cricket. I mean our players did not show the self-respect and fighting spirit for which they are known.”
Before the upset against the USA, Pakistan has also lost to teams like Afghanistan, Zimbabwe and Ireland in recent times. Former captain Javed Miandad praised the USA for pulling off an upset despite playing at this level for the first time. He said, “You look at our experience and performance compared to the USA. I give full credit to the USA for keeping their patience and playing with discipline. The brilliant catches they took turned the match in their favour.”
The former batsman said, “Our fans are disappointed but I think our team can regain some respect by defeating India on Sunday.” After the result, speculation also started on social media that all is not well in the Pakistan dressing room. Former Pakistan captain and coach Mohammad Hafeez also criticized the team’s performance, saying that the decision to bring back Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan as openers means that the team management has not learned from the mistakes.
Disclaimer: CricketInFocus has not edited this news. This news has been published from PTI-language feed.
