(Credit Screengrab)
Shoaib Akhtar responded to Pakistan’s defeat against the USA in the T20 World Cup by likening it to the 1999 Bangladesh World Cup upset.
Shoaib Akhtar’s expression mirrored the disappointment felt across Pakistan as the 2009 T20 World Cup champions suffered a significant setback against the United States of America in their Group A clash in Dallas on Thursday. After the match ended in a tie with both teams scoring 159 runs, Saurabh Netravalkar, of Indian origin, defended 19 runs in the Super Over to secure an epic five-run victory for the USA.
Similar to numerous former Pakistan cricketers, Akhtar was deeply affected by the result. In a brief video, the ex-speedster expressed his sorrow, stating that Babar Azam and his team had once again found themselves in an unfortunate moment in history, reminiscent of Pakistan’s defeat to Bangladesh in the 1999 World Cup, a match in which Akhtar himself participated.
“Very disappointing loss for Pakistan. Didn’t offer good start. Losing to USA… we created [unwanted] history like we did against Bangladesh in the 1999 World Cup. Unfortunately, Pakistan never deserved to win. Reason why USA played extremely well. They were in a commanding position. Amir saved the match. He and Shaheen tried. Unfortunately, we couldn’t pull it off,” Akhtar said.
Akhtar wasn’t alone in feeling disheartened by the result. Former Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal criticized Babar and his team, describing the outcome as an insult.
“The biggest insult for Pakistan cricket is losing the game in the Super Over. There can’t be a bigger insult than this. The USA played exceptionally well. They didn’t feel like a low-ranked side. It felt like they were ranked above Pakistan. That is the level of maturity they showed,” Akmal said on his YouTube channel.
Throughout its previous eight editions, the T20 World Cup has seen its share of surprising outcomes, but none as startling as this. While victories like Zimbabwe defeating Australia in 2007 and the Netherlands overcoming England in 2009 are memorable, the triumph of an associate team over two-time World Cup champions ranks among the greatest cricket upsets, not just in World Cups but in the sport’s history overall.
Pakistan seems to have a streak of encountering upsets in the T20 World Cup. This marks their second consecutive T20 World Cup defeat, following a narrow loss to Zimbabwe two years ago. Despite Pakistan’s impressive recovery to reach the final, the memory of that defeat still lingers, especially now when compared to Zimbabwe’s cricket history in contrast to the USA.
The loss to the USA has thrown Pakistan’s T20 World Cup campaign into disarray. Their upcoming match is against tournament favorites India, whom they defeated in the 2021 T20 World Cup but have faced defeats against twice since then – first in the 2022 Asia Cup and then during the 2022 T20 World Cup in Melbourne. Following the high-stakes clash with India, Pakistan will face Canada, followed by a match against Ireland, a team they recently lost to in a T20I just last month.
