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In a highly anticipated match at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Saturday, Pakistan suffered a significant setback as they succumbed to a seven-wicket defeat at the hands of arch-rivals India in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023.
The Pakistani team had set a target of 191 runs for India to chase, but the formidable Indian squad accomplished the task with remarkable ease. They reached the target in just 30.3 overs, showcasing their dominance in the ongoing tournament.
Mickey Arthur’s peculiar comment on the match
Pakistan Team Director Mickey Arthur offered a distinctive perspective after the game’s conclusion. He remarked that the ambience within the Narendra Modi Stadium gave the impression of not being an ICC event but rather more akin to a bilateral series.
“Look, I’d be lying if I said it didn’t. It didn’t seem like an ICC event to be brutally honest. It seemed like a bilateral series; it seemed like a BCCI event. I didn’t hear ‘Dil Dil Pakistan’ coming through the microphones too often tonight. So yes, that does play a role, but I’m not going to use that as an excuse because for us it was about living the moment, it was about the next ball and it was about how we were going to combat the Indian, the Indian players tonight,” Arthur said while addressing the post-match press conference.
Also READ: CWC 2023 – Top 5 biggest upsets in ODI World Cup history
ICC Chairman’s response on Mickey Arthur’s comments
In response to Arthur’s attention-grabbing remarks, ICC chairman Greg Barclay appeared to play down the criticism. He was quoted as saying that criticism is common at every event they host, suggesting that it’s a regular part of the process when various opinions are voiced.
“Every event that we have, there’s always criticisms from various quarters, Things that perhaps we’ll take away and try to work on, try to do better… so this event’s only [at] the start. Let’s see how the whole thing plays out and we’ll go away and we’ll review what could change, what we can do better, how we can improve World Cups and the general offering around cricket,” said Barclays as quoted by AFP in Mumbai while attending the International Olympic Committee Session, which voted for T20 cricket’s inclusion in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
