Between sips of milk tea at a restaurant within the Pakistani metropolis of Karachi on Friday morning, Jaffer Ahmed dissected the nationwide cricket crew’s shock loss to the US.
“That is unbelievable and embarrassing,” Ahmed, 26, mentioned as he took bites of bread and lamented the defeat with mates. “How can we, with our cricketing historical past, lose to a rustic that doesn’t even have cricket in its DNA?”
Dropping to the US on Thursday within the Males’s T20 World Cup was a humiliation in Pakistan, the place cricket is the most well-liked sport and a part of the nationwide id. The nationwide crew gained the World Cup in 1992, led by Imran Khan, who later rode his sports activities fame to a political profession that included turning into prime minister.
Many Individuals have been oblivious to the magnitude of their victory in Dallas. But it surely was felt acutely within the shedding aspect’s cricket-mad nation. As followers woke as much as the information, they started attempting to digest what had occurred, watching highlights from the match within the streets.
“We ought to be educating the united statesA.,” mentioned Muhammad Sagheer, 32, “not shedding to them.”
Followers have been infuriated by their crew’s poor displaying. The gamers dropped catches and missed bats, handing essential alternatives to the Individuals, mentioned Feroz Shah, 30, who referred to as Pakistan’s recreation a catastrophe.
Pakistan had already been struggling, partly as a result of latest management shake-ups within the crew and on the nationwide cricket board have harm morale, Aatif Nawaz, a British-Pakistani cricket commentator, mentioned in a video.
“A bitter tablet to swallow for Pakistan followers who’ve seldom seen darker instances,” he wrote on social media after Thursday’s recreation, calling it one of many largest upsets within the sport’s historical past.
The US, which had by no means performed within the World Cup, is a late bloomer on the worldwide cricket stage. It ranks 18th on the planet. Pakistan ranks sixth. Thursday’s win was the largest but for the U.S. crew.
“Pakistan seemed exhausted and helpless within the area,” Waqar Younis, a former coach of Pakistan’s nationwide crew, wrote on social media. “Congrats USA for a thumping victory.”
American curiosity in cricket is rising together with its South Asian diaspora. Buyers have poured over $1 billion into increasing the game nationwide. The home league performed its first season final 12 months and crew homeowners embody Microsoft’s chief govt, Satya Nadella. Within the World Cup, the US stands an opportunity of qualifying for the Tremendous 8 spherical.
Some Individuals celebrated their win over Pakistan on social media, lots of them in awe that one of many star U.S. gamers, Saurabh Netravalkar, has a day job as a senior engineer at Oracle.
“It’s an enormous achievement, you recognize, beating Pakistan,” Monank Patel, the present captain, mentioned after the victory. “I’m actually pleased with the boys.”
One other concern reverberated all through the cafe in Karachi the place Ahmed was ingesting tea with mates. Pakistan is about to face India, its biggest competitor, on Sunday, in an occasion that can take over each tv display in each nations.
“If we couldn’t win in opposition to the united statesA., how can we win in opposition to our archrival from India?” Sagheer mentioned.
