Pakistan fans were left distraught after the Babar Azam-led side failed to hold their nerves in 1-run loss to Zimbabwe in a thrilling Super 12 match of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 at Perth Stadium on Thursday.
This was Pakistan's second defeat in two games and their road to the semifinal has become difficult now.
Mohammad Wasim Jr (4/24) and Shadab Khan's (3/23) clinical bowling performance helped Pakistan restrict Zimbabwe to 130/8 in 20 overs. The likes of Wasim and Shadab combined to bag seven wickets to trigger a drastic collapse, and were well aided by Haris Rauf (1/12) who proved hard to score off.
Below-par total
Chasing a below-par total, Pakistan lost the wickets of Mohammad Rizwan (14) and Babar Azam (4) in the powerplay and were in trouble.
Shan Masood then played a fighting knock (44 off 38) and kept his team alive in the run chase. However, once he got out, the game was slipping from the hands of Pakistan as Zimbabwe bowlers were not giving any freebies.
Fighting Pak
But, the likes of Mohammad Nawaz (22) along with Mohammad Wasim Jr (12 not out) were not ready to give up. However, Pakistan's hopes got shattered when Nawaz got out in the second last ball of the last over of the innings. They were eventually restricted to 129-8 in 20 overs, losing by 1 run.
Sikandar Raza was the most successful bowler for Zimbabwe with his brilliant figures of 3/25. Brad Evans (2/25) was superb as well.
Fans took to social media to vent their frustration.
Here are a few reactions.
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