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.
We lost but with dignity. It is just a game and someone has to lose. But we tried and that is what counts.
50/50 serial said this long ago, listen to this clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggGxva_dOAY&feature =PlayList&p=B8C8CD349F1908AC&index=19&playnext=20& playnext_from=PL
sad thing…umpire was biased…gave wrong out of our team and ignored New Zealand white balls .. :(
As long as a game is played gracefully losing it does not matter(much).
I was extremely disappointed to see Pakistan lose the match yesterday, but I disagree completely with those who are blaming Younis, etc for this loss. At the start of the tournament, virtually every columnist did not expect Pakistan to go past the group stage and feature in the final four; yet they did qualify quite easily in the end which is an achievement in itself.
Consider what our cricket has had to go through during the past 2-3 years and you will surely cut them some slack. I am very disappointed about this loss, but still very optimistic about the future of this team. New players like Mohammed Aamer and Umar Akmal, and even Saeed Ajmal hold a lot of promise for the future.
That being said, our middle order batted very irresponsibly, and Umar Akmal’s wrong lbw decision could very well have been the fatal blow.