Update: New Zealand defeated Pakistan in the semi-finals of the ICC Champions Trophy, thereby leaving Pakistan out of the tournament now.
Earlier post. Pakistan and New Zealand are facing eachother in the Semi Finals of Champions Trophy Cricket Tournament right now. As of writng these lines, Pakistan is 166/5 off 39 overs. Run rate = 4.25
Pakistan and New Zealand have so far played 79 ODIs with eachother. Pakistan has won 47 (61.68%) and New Zealand has won 29 (38.31%). While the historical and statistical balance is heavily tilted in favor of Pakistan, Cricket results depend on how a team perform on any given day. To repeat Pak Captain Younis Khan’s words
“We need 2 good days”
I also second Younis Khan’s words where in a recent interview he said that Cricket is more than a game in Pakistan. He said that Cricket unites Pakistan (against all ethnic, sectarian and parochial divides) and a win for Pakistan will certainly go a long way in fostering unity among the Pakistanis. A loss however, should also be taken with dignity.
Some more comments from the ATP Facebook Page:
– “Atleast we got into the Semi Final…”
– “we know , they will back to pakistan soon…”
– “umpiring was poor, some mis fielding, n v were short of 30 runs.”
– “we have always reasons”
– “reasons to loose”
– “icc champions 20-20 still to come”
– “over all v played some good cricket in da tournament, atleast v played semi final.”
– “Played well, nothing like playing well and going down, in the end batting let us down. Less score on the board to defend”
– “koi baat naheen yaroon match fix tha umpire newzealand ki taraf thay …….”
– “sachiiiiii :@ maloom hai :@”
– “Relax guys… show acceptance… its not too bad anyways… appreciate our guys”
– “we just need a better captain who is in a better form.. plz dont shoot them for not winning”
– “yara kuch nahi hota har jeet to game ka hissa hoti hey… at least apni team ne koshish to ki.. age kismat”
– “We Lost Because The Empires Cheated…Umar Akmal WAs Not out clearly And their were many more:) but Win Or Lose “PakIstaN ZinDaBad”
– “the umpire is a game thief… he support the newzland”
– “yes ..pakistan zindabad… har jeet tu hoti rahti hay…”
– “It was simon and the captain himself due to which we loss the game….why do they always loose by getting so much close to reaching their destiny…? It always brings so much questions for our team. They are too big for the Kiwis but they loose the game is big question…”
– “Pakistan have done well. Never mind if they have lost two very close games. That’s cricket.”
– “its too hard 2 reach such up n den losing like dat….damn simon taufil get us down…n a simple catch drop at such dat stage……”
– “rana naveed , shoib malik and afridi r cunts , they shud be dropped from the one day side”
– “Girtey Hain Shehswar hi Maidan-e-Jang main”
– “wo shehswar hi kia jo gir jae midan e jung mai hiltay nahi zeen sy jaan ho jin ki raan mai”
– “Well done Boyses! :p”
– “hope for the best ………plz jo hota hy achy k liy hota hy…. and finaly hum semmifinal tk to pohnchy hy na.”
– “Semi Final to hum kab ka jeet chukey hotey, magar newzealand ki bari main LBW ki rakhi he nahi”
Win or lose, it’s part of the game.
But I cant accept is when Pakistan ALWAYS give the match to the opposition. Fight like tigers and if you still lose, full credits to the opposing team.
1. Why did they take the batting powerplays so late? They should have taken when Moyo and Akmal had that partnership. Afridi came and played like he was in PP .. but PP was not taken then still! I cannot accept this mistake from YK.
2. YK is our best fielder so wont criticize him too much for that drop catch .. but that was the easiest of catches seen in this CT.
3. We, IMO, one of the best bowling attack for the shorter versions of the game. However, isnt it frustrating to see be so indisciplined at times? No balls after no balls? This is ridiculous. Although, most matches we have won is due to our bowling, today, they could have done better. Even with that pathetic score to defend.
4. And lastly, it’s time to call Saeed Anwar and Amir Sohail back from retirement. And Inzy too. We have rubbish openers (though, they did give us a start today) and our middle/lower order is pathetic. Moyo and Umar Akmal are worth keeping. Kamran too for his WK. The rest are rubbish in this format! Even YK.
I am angry because our mistakes helped the opposition. Congrats to NZ for winning with an injury hit team. Credits to them to take full advantage of our captain’s mistakes.
If only we could have won it .. if only :( This CT was supposed to be hosted in Pakistan but because of security problems, that right was taken from us – rightly so. Taking the cup back home would have been pleasing.
Oh well, I better stop …
The catch Younis dropped may have cost us the match.
yes, the game is lost but it was well fought. I wish Pakistan had tried a little harder against Australia and would have been in a different semi-final
The early slow batting by Pakistan s what cost us this.