India defeat leaves Pakistanis in a fury
Pakistan, one of the pre-tournament favourites, went down by eight wickets in the Super Eights match at Premadasa stadium in Colombo on Sunday, watched by millions in the cricket-mad country.
The defeat leaves Pakistan with a must-win last match against in-form Australia on Tuesday to reach the semi-finals, and ex-players questioned captain Mohammad Hafeez's decision to bat first after winning the toss.
"Pakistan should have realised that India's strong point is their batting and they can chase a big total, so why did they bat first?" said former captain Aamir Sohail. "Our eleven was not chosen with India in mind."
India rolled Pakistan for a meagre 128 in 19.4 overs before Virat Kohli smashed a brilliant unbeaten 61-ball 78 to steer his side home in 17 overs, avoiding an early Super Eights exit.
Test great Zaheer Abbas said Pakistan went into the game against their biggest rivals under prepared.
"It seemed there was no planning for the crucial match," said Abbas. "You need to do proper planning for a match against India but I saw that the team panicked and there was no plan to stop Kohli."
The match was only the third encounter between the two sides in two years. India beat Pakistan in the semi-final of the World Cup (50 overs) in Mohali last year and also won the Asia Cup tie in Bangladesh earlier this year.
"It hurts when we lose to India," said Ishtiaq Ali, who watched the match with a group of friends on a big screen in Karachi. "Pakistan should lose to any team but not to India, because it’s sentimental."
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Guys, this is a game of cricket. The BETTER team on the DAY wins. Whoever wins must be congratulated and the loosing team should not be put UNDER pressure. There is always the next game that is available.
After Abbottabad the same commission will investigate the conspiracy against Pakistan in the defeat against India. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
@Arijit Sharma: Clearly, since the majority of Indian cricketers are from the Punjab......if we go by the British definition of martial races in the subcontinent. The term I believe was introduced by your colonial masters.
Aussies shall prove more tough than Indians for Pakistan because Aussies have restricted Pakistan under 100 in a T20 match...... For Pakistan winning the match against Aussies' chances are very 30 % and any miracle including rain can cause the victory of Pakistan against the Aussies.....
@cnic nobody agrees. This is a team of underachiever except only few players like Umar Akmal, Umar Gul, Afridi and Ajmal are the ones with killer instinct and never die attitude and Malik also. Afridi has not been impressive but he will be 100 times better Captain then timid and coward Hafeez. You need a bold leadership and ability to lead from front. I was his big supporter but not any more. He is another clone of misbah wthout his temperament or brain. We have Asad and Razaq sitting who both know how to bat and beat the opposition unlike current caste of timid characters. Also coaching has been below par. The only won againt SA by a fluke they never won against anyone that mattered. If they only lost to India then I could see the logic...they lose like this all the time. Their play against SA was identical to play against India.
Cricket is healthy competition. There's no harm or wrong in favoring one's "local" cricket team or in making agonizing post-mortems of its triumphs and defeats. It's part of the attraction of sport, along with the customs of playing by the rules and conceding defeat gracefully.
I must admit as an observor, however, that I have more knowledge of sport through Michigan football and A's baseball than through cricket. But are not all sports alike this way?
Go Pakistan, Go India. May the best team always win.
Does the "martial race theory" apply to cricket ?
Aman ki Ashaa, Pakistan made to give in to keep India in the tournament. Anyone agreeing?
Guys, this is 'aman ki aasha', Pakistan made to give in to keep India in the tournament. Anyone agreeing?
Here I agree with both Amir and Zaheer. If anything that keep working for you then why change ? Just keep the course. So far for Pakistan and even for other contestants, bating second has proved to be in their advantage to win. Then what was the reason to bat first in this important match after winning the toss ?
“Pakistan should lose to any team but not to India, because it’s sentimental.” Funny nationalism.... It is cool for Pakistan to loose if it is not India in the opposition!!!
Hafeez+Whatmore+Selectors = DISASTER.
The facts are: Pakistan has never beaten India in any 20 or 50 over World cup. The fact is Indian batsmen have much better averages than the corresponding Pakistani counterparts. Except for the first couple of overs, Pakistan never was in the game. Those wanted Pakistan to put India in know full well that Pakistan is not good in chasing. Let us grow up and face the facts. Being a cry baby is not cricket. The better team won. Pakistan was not just defeated they were outclassed in every department.
Afridi should retire and pakistan must bring new faces to boost their morale
India rocks.
Both Pakistan and India would do well to go slow on cricket. It is only a game and one or the other side must win. So let us enjoy the game and give a pat to the winner. Both countries have huge problems and its people must focus on bigger issues of life more seriously than they do on cricket. Cricket is hyped by commercial interests of advertisers, media, players and organisers. People do not need to fall into this trap by their disproportionate indulgence.
Uh ... I thought that we were talking about a game ...
Infact its Dhoni who announced before the match there will not be any plan or strategy to this match by giving full freedom to all players to play on their own will.
I m a Pakistani, guys you all must have heard 'better team wins on a given day' stop arguing accepting defeat is also true sportsmanship. Goodluck pakistan team for your next match.
Pakistan lost the match when Afridi started missing the hits and gave a catch after just 14 runs.
It's high time you all realize that lots of players in the team should go away for ever. Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal,Imran Nazir, Abdur Razzaq they all should retire or just go away for ever. We have players like Asad, Hammad, Junaid, Shezad sitting out for no reason. If Umer Akmal is our best talent than he needs to bat up the order and if he does not have the temperament he needs to be rested for few series so he can develop that kind of temperament. Hafeez as a captain, cant say much as he is too iffy also. His batting technique is flawed big time and you can just compare him when he is playing with Nasir Jamshed.
Do not put pressure on teams saying that Pakistan shouldn't loose to India and vice versa. Who are those fanatic people that say it hurts badly when Pakistan looses to India than anybody else. This is just a game. People sit inside AC rooms and criticize whatever doesn't work.
Indians and Pakistanis should accept that fact that their teams are not greatest teams in the world, they can loose on any given day.
During 80's and 90's India always used to be the underdogs when it comes to India-Pak clashes, so be frank and accept and enjoy the game.
it is high time that pakistanis realise their 'boom boom' star shahid afridi is the most overrated and hyped cricketer at present , who is going 'bust bust ' all the time ......pakistan has much better talent which should be given a chance
“Pakistan should lose to any team but not to India, because it’s sentimental.”--haha. Defeat is a defeat , be it India or Australia .Be liberal and you won't suffer from this syndrome any more for sure.
There were unbelievable celebrations in India as if it has lifted the cup by beating Pakistan. As an Indian I too wished India to win but this madness on both sides needs to be stopped. The loss against India and criticism at home would most likely affect the future performance of Pakistan who otherwise is the most balanced side of the tournament and are quite capable of upsetting Australia. Similarly, euphoria in Indian camp should be restrained as it still has to qualify for s/f and playing against a much better side. The irony of the tomorrow matches is that even if both Pakistan and India lose their respective matches but one of them can still qualify for the s/f on run rate difference and Pakistan holds the edge on the same. However, India and SA playing their last match would exactly know the equation to qualify depending upon the result of the first match.
Indian squad's experience from 20/20 format of IPL paid off.
Cricket team player always bring home either money (white or black), pride, determination, experience, knowledge, sponsorship, fame or guilt.
Come on people. India played better. They won, we lost. Move on, for god sake. Life has not ended. Talk about how to beat Australia and stay in the tournament.
Forget it...it's gone now! Just concentrate on Next step now, qualify for the Semis..!
No, we deserved to lose, No excuses. Ive taken it on the chin. We lost. Simple. Question now is...Who will make it through?