In arguably the biggest upset of the ongoing T20 World Cup, Zimbabwe beat Pakistan by a single run at Perth on Thursday.
It was another slim defeat for the Green Shirts, who had lost their tournament opener to India on Sunday in the final over and now are in danger of an early exit from the tournament.
Set a target of just 131, Pakistan was in control at 88-3 in 14th over when all hell broke loose, and they finished at 129-8 at the end of their 20 overs.
Despite the mini meltdown in the final quarter of their innings, Pakistan was still in the driving seat at various points, including the final over when seven runs off the first two balls meant they only needed four off as many balls.
In the end Pakistan failed to get over the line and lost the game by a single run.
Reacting to the defeat, former captain Wasim Akram said that he was “shocked” over Pakistan’s loss.
What a shocker ????
— Wasim Akram (@wasimakramlive) October 27, 2022
Fast bowler Mohammad Amir criticized Pakistan’s selection and called for Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ramiz Raja’s resignation.
from day one I said poor selection ub is cheez ki responsibility kon le ga I think it’s time to get rid of so called chairman jo pcb ka khuda bana hwa hai and so called chief selector.
— Mohammad Amir (@iamamirofficial) October 27, 2022
Likewise, former Pakistan skipper Mohammad Hafeez said he was “speechless.”
???????????? speechless #PAKvsZIM #ICCT20WorldCup2022
— Mohammad Hafeez (@MHafeez22) October 27, 2022
Former fast-bowler Shoaib Akhtar termed this an embarrassing defeat, reiterating his stance that an average mindset would only produce average results.
Average mindset, Average results. Thats the reality, face it. pic.twitter.com/plLZ11Qx0Y
— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) October 27, 2022
Aftab Iqbal was also started to trend on Twitter after Pakistan’s defeat. One fan on Twitter commented that time proved Aftab’s Iqabl right.
Time proved Aftab Iqbal’s words right.
Babar Azam’s ego and wrong decisions led the Pakistani cricket team to the point where they could win against weak teams in such a big tournament.#T20worldcup22#PAKvsZIM
Shame on you Babar, Nawaz, Haider
Pak bean
Ramiz Raja ???? Enough pic.twitter.com/olxX6LMnUZ— Waqas Akhter ???? (@waqasakhter077) October 27, 2022
Aftab iqbal right now on today performance of “babar azam”#PAKvsZIM #PressConference “rameez raja” pic.twitter.com/celQyOocHM
— Mohsin Rajpoot (@mohsincohhan146) October 27, 2022
Another Twitter user said the humiliating defeat was inevitable after “repeated mistakes, unapologetic behavior of captain, and management”.
This was coming, repeated mistakes, unapologetic behaviour of captain, management.
Pakistan Cricket Team – You deserved this ????#PAKvZIM #T20WorldCup
— Ali (@aliahmed98_) October 27, 2022
Babar Azam , Saqlain Mushtaq , M wasim , Ramiz Raja
You should be Ashamed of yourselfs ????#T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/kmQnOVb7Mn— Syed Shahzadian ❤️ (@SyedShahzadian) October 27, 2022
Some fans demanded PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja’s immediate resignation.
SACK RAMIZ RAJA IMMEDIATELY pic.twitter.com/ZA674liKFd
— A. (@Ahmadridismo) October 27, 2022
Remove Ramiz Raja from Chairman and Babar from Captaincy. we All sy remove asif ali , Khushdil shah and Haider ali from team .no one listen
— Teto Patiyaa ???????? (@Pola_620) October 27, 2022
