The Zimbabwe cricket team scripted history after defeating Pakistan in the Super 12 game which was played yesterday at Optus Stadium, Perth. It was a very close encounter as Zimbabwe clinched victory by 1 run on the last ball of the match and the whole cricketing world was left shocked at the defeat of Pakistan which was touted as one of the favourites to win the tournament. This was second consecutive defeat of Pakistan in the T20 World Cup 2022, earlier it lost its first match to arch-rivals India but the defeat against Zimbabwe hurt the former Pakistani cricketers and Pakistani fans more because it was not expected by them even in their dreams.
The social media platforms were flooded with reactions of cricket fans in which they expressed their shock and anguish over the defeat and trolled the Pakistani team as well as skipper Babar Azam. Many former Pakistani cricketers also didn’t mince words in criticizing the squad and the cricket board on the micro-blogging site Twitter including Shoaib Akhtar who not only called this defeat embarrassing but also said that we would get average results because average players with average mindsets were selected by the average management. In another video, he says that the Pakistani cricketers neither have talent nor technique and he is very disappointed. Few former cricketers also demanded ouster of the PCB Chief Ramiz Raja after this humiliating defeat of Pakistan.
Here are some selected reactions:
Thats embarrassing, to be most polite!
— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) October 27, 2022
Average mindset, Average results. Thats the reality, face it. pic.twitter.com/plLZ11Qx0Y
— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) October 27, 2022
Agar Zimbabwe hai toh khud he ho jaaye ga sab kuch?
Nahi, khud nahi hota, kerna parta hai.— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) October 27, 2022
from day one I said poor selection ub is cheez ki responsibility kon le ga I think it's time to get rid of so called chairman jo pcb ka khuda bana hwa hai and so called chief selector.
— Mohammad Amir (@iamamirofficial) October 27, 2022
What a shocker 😱
— Wasim Akram (@wasimakramlive) October 27, 2022
Won’t call the result an upset, if you watched the match you know Zimbabwe played top cricket from ball #1 and showed how to defend a low total on a batting pitch. Congratulations @ZimCricketv on the win, your passion and hard work shows #PAKvsZIM
— Shahid Afridi (@SAfridiOfficial) October 27, 2022
You guys deserve this celebration..very well played.the way you boys defended 130 runs target was just so amazing..Congrats @ZimCricketv @SRazaB24 👏🏻 short of words for team Pakistan 😔 just a sheer disappointment #PAKvsZIM #T20WC2022 pic.twitter.com/rQhxZdgcYJ
— Kamran Akmal (@KamiAkmal23) October 27, 2022
💔💔💔 speechless #PAKvsZIM #ICCT20WorldCup2022
— Mohammad Hafeez (@MHafeez22) October 27, 2022
A hearthbreaking loss. We must not give up though. Chin up guys.#PAKvsZIM #T20WorldCup
— Ahmad Shahzad 🇵🇰 (@iamAhmadshahzad) October 27, 2022
What a performance from Zimbabwe. Just kept in the game throughout. Pakistan couldn’t deal with the Perth bounce or Zimbabwe’s tenacity #PAKvsZIM
— Bazid Khan (@bazidkhan81) October 27, 2022
The Pakistani cricket team has been slammed earlier too as many former Pakistani cricketers feel that the middle-order of the team is weak and team management is doing nothing to strengthen it. Few former Pak cricketers also suggested that veteran Pak cricketer Shoaib Malik should be included in the team in order to make middle-order strong but Pak selectors did not pay any heed on this suggestion.
Here are some selected reactions from cricket celebs of other nations and cricket fans:
Pic 1 – Pakistan After 20 overs of Zimbabwe batting
Pic 2- Pakistan after 20 overs of their batting. #PAKvsZIM pic.twitter.com/amXnUFprQy
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) October 27, 2022
Hahahaha… Mr President bhi mast khel gaye.
Padosi ki Dukhti Rag https://t.co/yKksx3sjLs
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) October 27, 2022
What a fabulous effort by Zimbabwe to beat Pakistan defending 130. Held their nerves brilliantly. Very happy for them #PAKvsZIM
— Venkatesh Prasad (@venkateshprasad) October 27, 2022
It’s not an upset.. It was always Zimbabwe’s match. Bad day for neighbours. 😅 #PAKvsZIM pic.twitter.com/inXGErwqpl
— Amit Mishra (@MishiAmit) October 27, 2022
Congratulations Zimbabwe, came to Perth with a simple game plan and toppled Pakistan. Last ball affairs to much for the team in green. #PAKvsZIM #T20worldcup22
— Brad Hogg (@Brad_Hogg) October 27, 2022
Zimbabwe beat Pakistan 🙌🏽
And do not call this an upset. It'd be disrespectful to @ZimCricketv who've played so well and deserve all the respect and praise. Pic unrelated 😛 #PAKvZIM #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/RDxKasz05p— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) October 27, 2022
First Ireland defeated England & now Zimbabwe defeated Pakistan. Cricket is a game of uncertainties and possibilities. No team should be branded as a minnow. Looking forward to rest of the matches #T20WC2022 well done @ZimCricketv #PAKvsZIM
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) October 27, 2022
Shoaib Akhtar Today 🤣🤣#PAKvsZIM pic.twitter.com/tJBBGh5XBu
— Amit Kumar ( Modi Ka Parivar ) (@AMIT_GUJJU) October 27, 2022
Can you believe that! Simply outstanding bowling from Zimbabwe. Muzarabani and Ngarava were so good at the death. And Raza can fly today. Wherever he wants. He is creating magic almost everyday.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) October 27, 2022
Babar Azam just couldn't believe what happened.
Courtesy – Zimbabwe! pic.twitter.com/d41VaMAA1B
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) October 27, 2022
What a game for @ZimCricketv played superbly and put @TheRealPCB put under so much https://t.co/KfBiFzy3by is wide open 👏👏
— Angelo Mathews (@Angelo69Mathews) October 27, 2022
What a game of cricket 😍 Nerves of steel from @ZimCricketv Huge win for them. @SRazaB24 & Brad Evans turned the game around. Solid victory 👏🏻 #PAKvZIM #T20WorldCup
— Robin Aiyuda Uthappa (@robbieuthappa) October 27, 2022
Terrific win for Zimbabwe👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻. They just never give up. Outstanding #ICCT20WorldCup
— Ian Raphael Bishop (@irbishi) October 27, 2022
Craig Ervine, the Zimbabwe cricket team skipper, chose to bat first after winning the toss but his team wasn’t able to put up a good score as the whole team was bundled out for just 130 runs. The highest scorer for Zimbabwe was Sean Williams who scored 31 runs and the target of 131 runs seemed to be easily achievable for Pakistan considering the fact that it has a strong batting lineup.
However, Zimbabwean bowlers didn’t let Pakistani batters bat freely and kept on taking wickets on a regular basis. The openers Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan got out early, though Shan Masood did his best to make his team win yet after he got out on the score of 44 runs, things turned uglier for Pakistan. Mohammad Nawaz kept the hopes alive as he scored 22 runs but he also got out in the last over and Pakistan couldn’t score 3 runs needed to win on the last ball.
Sikandar Raza, the Zimbabwean cricketer, was adjudged as the Player of the Match as he took 3 wickets, carried out run-out of Shaheen Afridi in the last over and also scored 9 runs.
What is your reaction in this regard? Do let us know.