World Cup 2011: The dream is over

I wouldnt have commented coz I understand how it feels after such a loss…..we in India also go through similar emotions…….but what really took me by surprise was a comment by two young Pakistani girls on CNN….they said India did not deserve to win as Indians are not good people and they ( the girls) did not like Indians…..

such an attitude and that too from youngsters does not take any nation anywhere…

peaceRecommend

We Love You Afridi You Really Worked Very Hard
Better Luck Next TimeRecommend

I can understand the feelings of my Pakistani friends but the better team won. Pakistani team lacked the confidence and they were overawed by the occasion. Recommend

I was pretty sure India would win and it proved that their fielding was by far much superior than ours. Alhotugh I didn’t want the whole match (there was just no point) but the glimpses I had seen proved that India was much better at the game.Recommend

this is seriously a stressful news, a huge amount of expectation have been throwaway by the Paki team, senior guns have to come up with positive attitude toward victory but they failed to delivered.Recommend

This reminds me of Nawaz Sharif. Because of his actions, the nation suffered for 9 years, and yet he had the nerves to say that he apologized and the nation had forgiven him.

Note this time sir! Mr. Afridi you are professional cricketer. If your captaincy was not up to the mark, your head needs to be rolled.Recommend

“A rare poor outing”? Really? REALLY?Recommend

Our team played well and faced a very tough team who had experience of rich domestic as well as international cricket. Afridi dont dont be sorry we are proud of you. keep it upRecommend

Gawdddd Almighty!!!!!!!!! No comments as yet…Chill out guys. It’s just a game.Recommend

Even though Pakistan team lost but Mr. Afridi and the rest of team has absolutely nothing to apologize. Believe me you guys did a good job, hold your head high and remember entire nation is proud of you guys. On behalf of the entire country thank you. Recommend

Lets not be so harsh about it, its insenstive to use phrases like ‘dream is over’ and ‘India dumps Pakistan’, come on now..our wounds are still fresh, lets not make it worse shall we.Recommend

These players are match fixers, who else can you explain tendulkar being droped so many times. what else can explain the silly shot selection, the drop catches and delayed power play. Pakistan was trying its best to throw the game. People like Kamran Akmal, Umer Akmal and razzaq should be fined and banned, and the fine should be substantial so it ensures that their fixing earnings are taken back. Younus should retire as he is now over the hill and a match fixer. Afridi should resign too if he has any honour. Recommend

29 or 30 runs were not too much to make.

The fielding our Pakistani players were below standard despite the fact that all the players practiced rigorously and were ready to face the Indian team.

After winning the toss, Indian team opted to play and in the early overs, Indian batsmen scored high run-rate.

Poor fielding and drop of several catches increased the runs for the Indian Cricket Team players.

Pakistani Cricket players have made several mistakes which lead to their defeat although if Pakistani Cricket team had wickets in hands, it would have made the required score.

Right from the beginning, Pakistani team was supposed to make high score but Indian fielding was very tight.

In games it happens. I do not regret that Pakistani Team lost the match. World Cups Matches will come and go. They should prepare for future cricket matches and try to find out the short-comings.Recommend

Dropped four catches of Tuldulkar & expected to win! Must be living in Lalaland!Recommend

Well, “jazba” can get you only so far.Recommend

Why everyone is accepting this defeat on face value – I hope someone looks into the possibilty of Match Fixing by some of Pak Players – I suspect Umer Gul, Misbah and those who dropped catchesRecommend

overall Pakistan played very well throughout the world cup if we compare the same team’s performance couple of tournaments back. No worries….. as the one had to win in the end and thats a game thing….
Koi baat nai Shahid Bhai Koi baat nahi, next time INSHALLAH…. :)Recommend

Congratulations India! Well deserving vitory. Best wishes for the final!Recommend

Still Proud of My Team!

With all the scandal and everything surrounding us, reaching the Top 4 places in the world cup! Is amazing.

Shahid Afridi is a man of pure and utter class.

Insha’Allah 2015 will be ours.Recommend

our beloved team, we are proud of you, you all tried your best. It wasnt’ easy to play in a situation where crowd, and team were so rude n brutal, our team showed a very good behaviour while indians were using slangs from the beginning. They played with great efforts and showed their talent to the xtreme, throughout the tournament. its not abt losing or winning, its abt how you played n you played very well.Recommend

We were better off than:
Austrlia
England
South Africa
West Indies
and I’d argue even better than the Newzealand as we fought a better Semi-Final.
What more can you expect from a team:
– Which doesn’t play home series due to the 2009 attack in Lahore.
– Which got thrashed big time in Australia and then underwent a period when two of its best batsmen, Yousuf and Younus had to sit for seasons.
– Which lost the arguably the most potent pace attack pair in the world to the match-fixing saga just months before the tournament.
– Which is governed by the most incompetent board member of ICC.
– Which was unaware of its captain (with three contenders) till almost the start of the tournament. Even ICC was confused and posted the wrong person as Pakistan captain on their web-site

I’d say… THANKYOU PAKISTAN CRICKET TEAM AND SHAHID AFRIDI for all that you guys achieved.Recommend

Yesterdays Match was good and worth for watching. Better side won. No need to criticise Pakistani team they did best despite all those adversaries and crisis Pakistan cricket was facing since last three years.

Good luck team Pakistan!Recommend

Our country is whelmed by dark clouds of terrorism and Intl Cricket is over in our country, look at India lots and lots of Cricket and its a result of IPL that they skimmed out brilliant talent like raina, yousuf etc.

I am proud of my team, even in that situation we turn top four in the world cup…

the match has united whole nation once again to sit together and enjoy.

Thank you Afridi and a our Cricket team. Recommend

Afridi we love you…. Come back home and see what warm welcome you get… !!! No need for apologies… you were not suppored by senior goons of the team thats it, other wise you were through with your team to the final!!Recommend

WE LOVE PAKISTAN……WE LOVE PAKISTAN CRICKET TEAM…WELL PLAYED AFRIDI…..IT WAS JUST LACK OF EXPERIENCE…..INSHALLAH FOUNDATION HAS BEEN LAID FOR GOOD FUTURE….Recommend

YUNUS KHAN AND RAZZAK SHOULD BE SHOWN DOORS WITH RESPECT. AFRIDI MUST RESIGN AS CAPTAIN CAPTAIN FOR 50 MOVERM MATCH.Recommend

Apology not accepted.

Get Lost.Recommend

@Dia: Its totally the other way around… It is Misbah & Younus the so called backbone and most senior players of the team who should be held responsible for all this… Afridi deserves lot of applause for his leadersdhip!! Recommend

@Imran: Dude the Indian innings would had been over below 220 at max had the catches been caught… He made good bowling changes and right field placings also at most of the time but it was actually his best Bowler (Gul) safe fielders (Misbah & Younus) & best batsman (again Misbah & Younus) that made all he did look ugly. Recommend

I’m no expert but the DETERMINING FACTOR, in my opinion, was FIELDING. Had India faced their own (level/quality of) fielding, they would not have scored over 210. And had Pakistan faced their own (level/quality of) fielding, they would have scored over 300. Dropping Tendulkur FOUR times and two LBW close call was as bad as it can get. So in essence, we had to get Tendulkur out SEVEN times to get him out. India’s fielding was changing every moment, they were fine-tuning to every player i.e. they had a strategy for each player. Pakistan did not bother too much on that count. India made it seem as if 16 players were fielding for it and Pakistan made us feel as if it had only five fielders during the match. Recommend

@Joy: Congratulations on winning the semi finals. As for the two girls, its a problem with both the countries that we have sensibles and at the same time there are others! Both the teams played their part but Pak team made more mistakes, whereas India played well we enjoyed the game! Recommend

Pakistan Zindabad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Recommend

Shahid Afridi did a fantastic job as Capt! I am not soo sure the rest of the guys ie Younis and Razzaq should be sticking around in ODI’s or T20 type matches! New Blood and a fresh perspective under Afridi should be the way forward.Recommend

Corrupt Government, Illiterate Players with so much of Facilities and benefits, no urge for wining the match, suffering from leg pulling and internal conspiracies, greedy for wealth, plots, cars and material, lack of plans in the ground, the worst bating line.

what can we expect from those who take semi final of world cup as a tape ball 10 over match.

After spending Millions or Billions on PCB if this is the result then its better to ban International Cricket for 5 years and work on under 17 and under 19 teams. It have seen those young players they don’t have motor bike even on them but there performance is much better then them.

Order of Modesty is Ejaz Butt, Shahid, Younus, Misbah, Kamran Akmal should immediately take retirement and PCB budget should be reduced to 50% from current. Pakistan Zindabad People are dying of hunger longing for shelter and our care takers are distributing land and money to those who dont need and deserve itRecommend

Had it not been for Afridi’s captaincy throughout this tournament, Pakistan wouldn’t even have made it past the group stages. And to all of you who didn’t get the memo, Afridi is the leading wicket takerin the tournament-it’s been the batsmen that haven’t been performing. The top order batsmen never learn and our middle order batsmen think all they have to do is go stand on the pitch and look good. Pakistan was at best a lacklustre side were it not for Afridi’s belief and leadership. Recommend

Had Afridi followed Imran Khan’s advice, he would not be seeking nation’s forgiveness today. He deserves no leniency. He should be sacked as the captain of Pak cricket. Coach Waqar, Razzak, Younis Khan, Misbah, Kamran Akmal should also be axed. As long as these players remain, Pakistan will suffer more defeats and humiliations.
Pak cricket needs complete overhaul, starting from the chairman down. Ejaz Butt is the real culprit and the person responsible for demise of cricket in Pakistan. It is high time, he resigns to save cricket in Pakistan.
It is shocking that these players are to be given 500000 for their pathetic performance in India by Punjab Government. Instead of rewarding these players, money should be spent on rehabilitating the flood victims. I have to objections if Sharif Brothers pay these clueless cricketers out of their personal accounts instead of paying out of government limited resources. Recommend

Afridi, you need not be sorry – you were the one who planted the dream in our hearts n brains. We got here for the firm belief you and your unit had. For the first time ever, I swear, it did not hurt to lose. Disappointment over some mistakes and poor performance by Misbah and Younis, yes, but the new life in the team is phenomenal.Recommend

Well… Congrats all Indians for such a great game. Better team always wins so is India. Our team well played and tried hard but they have weaknesses that lead them to lose. Anyhow, very good game after very long period of time. I wish we could have India-Pakistan series soon.Recommend

@sara↲what a pathetic response.where did you hear the slangs?Recommend

In my book, Afridi is the best captain Pakistan has had for a looong time now. There is no need to apologies Shahid Bhai, we still love you very much. You have been the best bowler of the tournament and we will always remmember the effort you have put in to get to the semi-finals. May Allah bless you.
I do wish that we get rid of players like Kamran Akmal, restrict Misbah to test cricket and get a world class batting coach who can make strategies for the team but then again when is anyone listened to in the PCB! We need a wicket keeper who can hold on to a catch. ONE CATCH can make the difference in the game!! ONE CATCH was all that was needed to get rid of Sachin earlier. Recommend

The team reached at the stage no one was expecting from them. But cricket is all about handling the pressure. We all knew in our heart that 260 was still going to be a tough target for our batting side.

Wrong use of power play, poor fielding and some irresponsible shots caused the loss. Besides India bowled and fielded well and build pressure on the team.Recommend

I enjoyed India – Australia match more than Indo-Pak …this match was full of hype where India didn’t bat impressively and Pakistan batted horribly … Indian bowlers were really good this time which I didn’t expect to be very honest.

And Tendulkar – you should have scored at least 150 after getting 4 lives.

Anyways hope India wins the WC . BLEED BLUE !!Recommend

Dear Pakistani fans,
You should feel proud of your cricket team. The way they have performed under so much of constraints. They don’t have proper first class structure. International cricket not happening in the country. Poor facilities.Poor payments. The overall situation of the Pakistani nation which is on the verge of being a failed state. These are not the circumstances sportsmen love. Despite all these, Pakistan keep producing wonderful talents especially in bowling. Batsmen lack technique and temperament because of lack of a competitive first class structure.Try to fix these issues and you will have a world beater team.Give your team the credit it deserves. They have in many ways performed beyond expectations. Recommend

Once you are in semis against all expectations, infact u played really well and that’s why you won against Srilanka, Australia and west indies.

We restrict them (claimed to be the best batting line) to 260 by dropping 5 catches, some sloppy fielding and with a few luck on Indian side as well during the first half of the match! And further things were going very well until Hafeez played a very rash and irresponsible shot and got himself out! That’s unbearable especially when you are hitting the ball with superb timing and the middle of the bat and asking rate was just around 5.5 per over. Then came the Misbah and Younis slowed the things too much by blocking and not rotating the strike

I think some serious overhauling of Pakistan team is required (particularly this strong middle order which is exposed under pressure) besides exploring new faces and preparing them for the next world cup.Recommend

@Dia:
No doubt Misbah scored 56 but was he playing TEST cricket??? He brought all others players under extreme pressure!!!!Recommend

Waiting for Comments for Loss from my Pakistani Brothers…. Match Fixing, RAW involvement, Indian Black Magic, Hindu Extremism, Inefficient PCB, Khafir land. My brother in Dubai told all the Indian Muslim Brothers there supported India through out the game. So our Pakistani brothers claim of All Muslim support to Pakistan is also a Day dream. Insaa Allah India will win World cup this time. So “Dream is Over”. Khuda Hafiz.Recommend

<<<<<<<< BLEED BLUE >>>>>>>Recommend

I HATE MISBAHHH!!!!!! but i love PakistanRecommend

.@M Bilal:
You got to be kidding me! Indians choked runs for Pakistan. Pakistanis, on the other hand, were content with giving them singles. No slip, no close fielders to put pressureRecommend

One should write an article on the topic ‘I witness, this match was fixed’.

One can prove his point with many of the eye catching blunders which Pakistan did and still I am unable to understand and expect such from professionals!!Recommend

The Indian parrot that ‘predicted’ Pakistan’s win wasn’t killed for his prediction… It was killed for lying. Karsevaks aren’t heartless killers, they’re justice deliverymen. Liars like CM Shahbaz (No hand in Davis Release) should be handed over to the Sena boys!Recommend

Having gone through so much of presure for match fixing allegations and banning our three cricketers, this team certainly had done some good to reach at semi finals. Our disgust is not losing to India, this is another factor, but, is non-performance. Nevertheless, in the final analysis, some of our players did not perform throughout the tournament. PCB must ignore ‘perchi’ players for now and thoroughly scan performance of each one of them. I don’t know them personally, Kamran Akmal, Umar Akmal these two are disasters for our national team and will always remain a threat to the winning combination – show them door. Hafeez got out due to very poor shot-selection. Younus, Misbah and Razzak must get honourable retirements and I request them not to desert the team any further. Moreover, Afridi’s performance has also not been up to the mark at all. I think this is time he along with Younus, Misbah and Razzak should consider honourable exit leaving positions for young and capable guns to takeover. Recommend

@joy:
We are fuelled by their conccoctation of history.We unfortunately need the hate india machine – We does not mean my muslim brothers but the our ruling class . For the elite to induge in their bourgise lifestyles the animosity needs to be fuelled.Girls are saying only what we have been brainswashed with through the Zia era and a warped view of our history. I would have loved Pakistan to win.I think more than anyone the region needed pakistan to win the worldcup.Coz it hadthe potential to being us (peopleofpakistan) together. Sad.Recommend

The team needs to re-build and some dead woods need to be retired.

In addition to dropped catches, Misbah and Yunus Khan’s slow innings did the team in.

But on positive side, no one expected the team to reach semi-finals and be where they are. They beat Australia.We ended up top of our league.Afridi was highest wicket taker.

we need a new wicket keeper who can hold catches, and some young batsmen (bye bye Misbah, Yunus, Razzak).Recommend

After so many let-down moments and so many scandals, Green Shirts were able to do a lot better than what they did in 2003 & 2007 when the team was even stronger. Reaching the Semi Finals, in these circumstances, is an achievement in itself!!!! Recommend

We proud of Pakistani Team.Recommend

@Hafeez.Indian: Glad that you yourself said Khuda Hafiz… otherwise you would had been thrown out of this forum despite having a Muslim name and pronouncing your self as Muslim…

By the way you can go through all the comments that say we Love Afridi & this team.. yes Misbah & YK innings had to do something with the defeat.. but then reaching so far from where they had started is victory in itself… now Khuda Hafiz from your Pakistani brother!! stay where you are and cheer for whoever you want.. !!Recommend

it was obvious misbah and gul were bought by the bookiesRecommend

We did not lose to a better side.
They just had a better day.Recommend

If it was fixed, but not by the Afridi.. So my bro you are still hero..Recommend

What’s important is the fact that despite of all the odds, Pakistan made it to the semis, thrashing Australia in style.

It would have been great to win against India, in India, but heavens have not fallen, if that has not happened. The problem is that we bring political games to the field, with idiot politicians from both sides, coming for pomp and show.

I wish these corrupt politicians from both side could show as much enthusiasm, passion and “love” when it comes to bringing the tens of millions in our two countries who live below poverty level, in sub-human conditions.

I saw around 3000 people in Islamabad dancing to every shot being played, till the last moment, despite of knowing that our team was losing. That’s the spirit we should live, instead of the war-hysteria created by media, disguised as “arch-rivals’-cricket-match”.

The pride of Pakistan and India (of course many Indians would not like this coming from a Pakistani) should not revolve around a cricket match. Even if we win the world cup for 13 times starting 2015, we would not have achieved much when people sell their children because they can’t afford to keep them, when people can’t access clean drinking water, when thousands die because of small diseases like malaria and pneumonia.

Enough of the delusional euphoria. wake up and see the realities and try to change our countries with the same zeal and zest.Recommend

No Fear No Tear … Pakistan Zindabad … we love you Afridi Recommend

We should have won this match. Not we could have, we should have. We were in a very hopeful position, a powerplay in hand and an almost equal required runs to balls left ratio. Wins usually come from situations less than these, even for us.
Misbah and Younus were pathetic. Bleeding balls from an already unsteady target, driving the required run rate higher and higher. We gave away wickets with stupid shots, and not our useless idle players like the two afore mentioned but our star strikers who were getting us runs, umar akmal and shahid afridi. Moreover, we absolutely REFUSED to use our powerplay and get us back into a situation where we can grab a single from every other ball and still be in a situation to win. If afridi had used the powerplay for his innings, he probably would not be caught out. Its like we forgot it was there. It was the ticket to an almost assured victory instead of the rapidly derailing train that misbah was trying for.

This match was ours and we gifted it. Seriously, we dropped 6 catches. We literally dropped the match SIX times. We SHOULD have won.

i hate u, misbah, younus and gul.Recommend

I personally think that the Pakistani team was not unduly & exceptionally nervous contrary to that i feel the Indian team was edgy as well and their confidence in their batting not as aggressive as one would have expected exempting the initial overs by Sehwag. It was obvious in the way the Middle and lower order were batting, the fact that they were not able to score the runs they initially had in mind which was a 300+ total. Added to the fact that the pitch was designed specifically to enhance their batting ability.They were restricted inspite of Umar Gul’s miserable bowling stint. On the other hand Afrid did did not get the wickets he deserved due to dropped catches of Tendulkar but then by the expressions of the players it makes you wonder whether they were really nervous or just too casual? Lack of slips and a lack of aggressive field placement contributed ATLEAST 40 extra runs. I personally don’t think India played so well as much as Pakistan played carelessly and casually lacking the temperament and the commitment as well as strategy to beat India who were quite unhappy by their meagre total. Recommend

We still hope a charismatic character like Imran Khan to lead our team, Afridi is a good player and a master to encourage/motivate team members to fight and play out of the box, but leading a team is a bit tricky and ironic job. Selectors should judge the personalities along with performance before injecting new blood in the team. Despite of producing enormous big names in cricket history we haven’t worked and produced even a single good fielder. Still nation is surprise of Shoib’s presence in 15 squad of 2011 World Cup, Razzaq’s justification of bowling batting and fielding, Misbah and Younus’s approach in batting, Akmal’s domination at PCB, 2 bowling coaches and no batting/fielding consultants. We are among those few nations who initiated cricket and still our captains deliver speeches that we are in the team building phase. Why Srilanka has superseded us in such a little span of time, why Bangladesh is arising so fast. Do still we have dought that cricket is in the hand of people that it shouln’t be ! Once again the system has let us down, not the players ! Recommend

HafeezIndian
Are you smoking something you shouldn’t? Your words make you sound like an ugly person. Recommend

Yousus khan was the weakest link in the team. if we had even Fawad Alam in the squaed situation would have been different. Recommend

People are being harsh on Afridi.

There are many reasons for our defeat:

Expensive Umar Gul spell, dropped catches and slow batting both by Younus and Misbah.

Yes, we are sad that we should not be sorry.

Someone sent me this email and I want to share with all of you..

I am very sorry to my nation’. Shahid Afridi, Pakistan International Cricket Team Captain.

Why sorry?

You gave us all hope by reaching in the Semi Finals.

Why Sorry?

You built and created the separated team, and united them.

Why sorry?

A 6th ranking world team, beating and outplaying the top class teams and players in their home grounds.

Why sorry?

You and no International world team can play with you, on your own homes grounds, but you still create and develop world class players.

Why sorry?

You raised the Pakistan Flag in Mohali, India.

Why sorry?

Due to you, the Pakistani National Anthem was sung in the India infront of ALL Indians.

Why sorry?

Be proud, and welcome the Team home with honour, respect and dignity, they made us very proud. The world has seen the most electrifying, exhilarating and fascinating sports battle ever to be witnessed.

Pakistan Zindabad.Recommend

Main Tenu SAmjahwan Ki >> Na tere Bajo LAG Da Jee >> Hy Tu ki JAnay Piyar Mera :(
(Pakistani>> TEAM WE LOVE YOU Cricket) :( :)Recommend

I think … green shirts did a brilliant job !!!! they lost it … bt I think they have done more than expected there.Recommend

AFRIDI we love u ,,no need to b sorry..come back home n back to work for upcoming matches…Recommend

Well Done Pakistan Team and especially Shahid Afridi. All of you, especially Afridi has really proved himself worthy of respect. We love you all.

For the future, we need some batsmen in the side. Javaid Miandad, Zaheer Abbass, Inzimam ul Haq please coach some kids in your extra time. This country needs it so bad… we just dont have batsmen at the moment.Recommend

Well done Pakistan Team. And no need for SORRY. You tried your level best and we are proud of you all.Recommend

@ Abdullah I agree with your observation.There are certian aspects of this game where one feels as if the Bookies have made their way through with certian players.

Some sort of inquiry is certianly needed.Recommend

Nice to see how much the match fixers, and catch losers are loved by an equally corrupt country. What choice do you have ? Recommend