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In a shock result on Thursday, Pakistan lost to Zimbabwe by one run during a Super 12 fixture of the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022. This was Pakistan’s second defeat in as many games, and now their semifinal hopes are in jeopardy.
In the 24th match of the multi-team tournament, Zimbabwe skipper Craig Ervine won the toss and opted to bat first. His side posted a reasonable total of 130 on the board for the loss of eight wickets. It was not a big target, but after losing their captain Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan early in the innings, Pakistan could only score 28 runs in the powerplay overs.
Shan Masood (44 off 38) showed some fight in the middle, but after he got out in the 16th over, Zimbabwe pulled the match in their favour. The last recognized batter Mohammad Nawaz (22 off 18) tried to seal the game for Pakistan but was caught by Zimbabwe skipper Ervine when the Men in Green needed three runs off two balls.
Shaheen Afridi, who faced the last ball of the final over, could only score a single and was run out in an attempt to complete the second. In the end, Pakistan faced a heartbreaking loss with fans and experts coming up with mixed reactions on social media.
The Pakistan cricket fraternity was also critical and sympathetic to Babar & Co.on Twitter.
Here are the reactions:
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
Thats embarrassing, to be most polite!
— 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
💔💔💔 speechless #PAKvsZIM #ICCT20WorldCup2022
— Mohammad Hafeez (@MHafeez22) October 27, 2022
What a shocker 😱
— Wasim Akram (@wasimakramlive) 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
Proud moment is @ZimCricketv #PAKvsZIM #T20WC2022 many congratulations to Zimbabwe cricket team for excellent performance. pic.twitter.com/rZMuZsfvrU
— Rashid Latif | 🇵🇰 (@iRashidLatif68) October 27, 2022
Heart Broken 💔 💔 💔 #PAKvsZIM
— Wahab Riaz (@WahabViki) October 27, 2022
Zimbabwe beats Pakistan by 1 Run..UNBELIEVABLE!!
Great Job Zimbabwe 🇿🇼 bowling was great today by shadab , wasim and Rauf 👏🏼 Hard Luck Pakistan 🇵🇰 pic.twitter.com/N9dxo1K1qS
— Saeed Ajmal (@REALsaeedajmal) 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
💔
— Sohail Tanveer (@sohailmalik614) October 27, 2022
What a victory for Zimbabwe – they completely deserve this win! Pakistan were poor with the bat & all the shortcomings that were highlighted during the England series showing up.
— zainab abbas (@ZAbbasOfficial) October 27, 2022