For the first time in a long time, losing doesn’t feel bad

[Suleiman]

This is what we all wanted from Pakistan, aside from winning.

To fight and to fight hard.

And we did that today, despite losing the game.

Am I alone feeling this way? Or have my expectations hit a new low of what I expect from the team?

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A fantastic game of cricket which went right down to the end and was played in great spirit <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AsiaCup2022?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AsiaCup2022</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IndvPak?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IndvPak</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1563953595879415809?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 28, 2022</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">147 was unlikely to be enough runs. It was only due to the fine efforts of Pakistan's bowlers that Pakistan made the match competitive <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AsiaCup2022?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AsiaCup2022</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IndvPak?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IndvPak</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1563954631876788224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 28, 2022</a></blockquote>
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[AamchiMumbaikar]

You won in T20 wc last year, why would you settle for anything less than a win ?

 

[PakEngFan]

Tbh I am the same when you have a middle order of ifti Khushdil Asif Ali and a so called all rounder in Nawaz no need to hope big.

 

[ethan hunt]

No team has fought and bowled as well after losing the toss in dubai in a long long time.

 

[Rana]

Tbh

Pakistan should have won that.

 

[Varun]

Well played Pakistan.

You made 140 look like 180.

 

[Marooned]

I too didn't feel bad today.

We gave a proper fight even after a middling total.

My feeling is ofcourse fueled by a hope that we will get better as the tournament progresses. I think we saw some good things today too.

 

[Major]

Well, we did defeat India by 10 wickets.

We gave a low total and that in a ground that is famous for team winning second.

We gave a great fight and took a low total match to the last over even with a drop catch. We played well and this loss doesnt hurt and only makes us confident that we will come back better in super 4.

However, I am still waiting for Harris Rauf to perform. Its ridiculous that Naseem shah the debutant performed better than Harris who has been with the team.

Hasan Ali gets bashed alot, but i think he needs to be back in place of Harris

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

India won this match but this is not the revenge of our loss against Pakistan in the T20WC by any means. May be later in the tournament we will get that revenge.

 

[IAJ]

Lost the toss, batted poorly against an average bowling attack without Bumrah.

Big thumbs up for the bowlers. We only had 5 bowlers, very risky, but they made a match of it.

Finally, better to lose now, as the important matches will come later (assuming we will beat HK). The nerves will be gone.

Should have had Shan Masood in the mix as well.

 

[PakistanMeriJaan]

This is what we all wanted from Pakistan, aside from winning.

To fight and to fight hard.

And we did that today, despite losing the game.

Am I alone feeling this way? Or have my expectations hit a new low of what I expect from the team?

I agree wholeheartedly. Barring the pathetic showcase from out middle order the team overall showed a great fighting spirit.

 

[Pakpak]

I felt awful

We threw it away at the end by stupid extras. The dropped catch also cost us. India would have been reeling at 1 for 2 in the first over instead.

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

Actually Pakistani bowlers (barring extras) were superb considering conditions, second innings and a miserable score to defend.

After loss of Shaheen, toss and Babar so early, it was always India's game to lose!

 

[Geil]

Well, we did defeat India by 10 wickets.

We gave a low total and that in a ground that is famous for team winning second.

We gave a great fight and took a low total match to the last over even with a drop catch. We played well and this loss doesnt hurt and only makes us confident that we will come back better in super 4.

However, I am still waiting for Harris Rauf to perform. Its ridiculous that Naseem shah the debutant performed better than Harris who has been with the team.

Hasan Ali gets bashed alot, but i think he needs to be back in place of Harris

which Pak bowler in the past won T20I matches or even ODI in close tight games?

 

[Nasty Naz]

It was great to see a close Pakistan-India match in a long time. A shame we were on the losing end but what looked like a blow out match at first turned into an instant classic.

Overall, it should be a huge boost of confidence to the bowling unit that they almost defended this total against such a good batting attack and might have even been able to pull it off if not for our bowlers getting cramps & the over rate penalty which was massive. But that's T20 for you - little things can look big at the end.

 

[Major]

I felt awful

We threw it away at the end by stupid extras. The dropped catch also cost us. India would have been reeling at 1 for 2 in the first over instead.

that wasnt an easy catch. Yes i felt disappointed when Fakhar dropped it but it was going away from him and was abit difficult. Cant bash fakhar for that too much. It was a catch that was flying to third slip and Fakhar at second and closer was on the move

 

[asadee]

Fakhar is a pretty good outfielder but looks out of place in slips. He dropped quite a few in slips against the Netherlands too

 

[TNAmarkFromIndia]

You won in T20 wc last year, why would you settle for anything less than a win ?

Because they're a weaker team and they know that.

 

[Saurav]

Terrific fight by Pak

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Tbh I am the same when you have a middle order of ifti Khushdil Asif Ali and a so called all rounder in Nawaz no need to hope big.

Not sure when they gonna change this approach of playing with bits and pieces..

In the lineup , except Babar , there is no real proper batsman in the side..

Rizwan is a keeper , Fakhar was a better hacker compared to others in current lot.. no wonder the tail starts from no.4

 

[DHONI183]

I think that I would agree with the sentiment. Pakistan made it a really exciting match despite a pretty below average effort with the bat. For now, though, I think that Babar Azam just needs to get it tattooed on his forehead that, if the guy really has to be played at all in the first place, even one solitary over of Haris Rauf should never be saved for the end. The guy is a spraying gun and is a really easy target for the opposition if the situation demands them to go big. Besides that, as much as I really consider him extremely over-rated as a batsman, I must mention here that this is where Rohit is ahead of Kohli as captain. The latter would've never thought out of the box and never taken the risk of promoting Jadeja to number four. Jadeja is no Gary Sobers, but he has enough experience behind him now that he should've been trusted to handle the pressure out there in the middle, and that was one smart decision on Rohit`s part, whereas Babar, on the other hand, made a mistake in saving that one over of Haris. He should've been bowled out when India where consolidating.

Kohli`s dropped catch, of course, proved to be most vital in such a low-scoring affair; however, we've discussed Pakistan's bad fielding far too often that the discussion seems to boring now.....

All in all, a good game. Well done to both the teams!

 

[sweep_shot]

It was a 5-star game.

Pakistan bowled their hearts out. They lost due to batting.

 

[Major]

I think that I would agree with the sentiment. Pakistan made it a really exciting match despite a pretty below average effort with the bat. For now, though, I think that Babar Azam just needs to get it tattooed on his forehead that, if the guy really has to be played at all in the first place, even one solitary over of Haris Rauf should never be saved for the end. The guy is a spraying gun and is a really easy target for the opposition if the situation demands them to go big. Besides that, as much as I really consider him extremely over-rated as a batsman, I must mention here that this is where Rohit is ahead of Kohli as captain. The latter would've never thought out of the box and never taken the risk of promoting Jadeja to number four. Jadeja is no Gary Sobers, but he has enough experience behind him now that he should've been trusted to handle the pressure out there in the middle, and that was one smart decision on Rohit`s part, whereas Babar, on the other hand, made a mistake in saving that one over of Haris. He should've been bowled out when India where consolidating.

Kohli`s dropped catch, of course, proved to be most vital in such a low-scoring affair; however, we've discussed Pakistan's bad fielding far too often that the discussion seems to boring now.....

All in all, a good game. Well done to both the teams!

Babar could had done the same with Shadab, meanwhile our waqar younis said on tv, no he takes time to settle in.

 

[Corridor of Uncertainty]

I am completely opposed to OPs opinion.

It is a defeat - straight and simple. 5th in six matches against India.

We can look for consolation in defeat - boys fought hard, heroic, close game etc. It counts for nothing.

Just like it counts for nothing if Babar or Sachin score a scintillating 100 in another loss. Fans can look at that as something to cling to, but scorecard shows a match lost against an arch rival - once again.

Next match against India, Pakistan will start at -1 and India will start at +1 in confidence because of this match.

A shame. Pakistan lost it mentally at key moments - starting with Fakhar Zaman's walk.

 

[Pakpak]

that wasnt an easy catch. Yes i felt disappointed when Fakhar dropped it but it was going away from him and was abit difficult. Cant bash fakhar for that too much. It was a catch that was flying to third slip and Fakhar at second and closer was on the move

I feel if you are to be called an elite team you have to take these half chances, that's what separates good teams from excellent teams. I knew when we dropped the catch we'd never win.

 

[from_da_lost_dim3nsion]

Didn't sting as bad coz we fought till the end but lets not make a habit of losing .

 

[Snowflake]

You won in T20 wc last year, why would you settle for anything less than a win ?

Because it's a T20 game - where what you did in the last game means nothing. The format is highly unpredictable.

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">What a fightback by Pakistan's bowling unit. India came out stronger in the end. What a match!!</p>— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) <a href="https://twitter.com/shoaib100mph/status/1563952615293128707?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 28, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Major]

I feel if you are to be called an elite team you have to take these half chances, that's what separates good teams from excellent teams. I knew when we dropped the catch we'd never win.

Its unrealistic to be honest. They care called half chances for a reason. Sometimes you hold them sometimes you dont, but i do agree that often its those stunners that you pull off that can send a message to the opposition thay we mean business. But i wouldnt bash fakhar for that

 

[Rajdeep]

[MENTION=146232]jeeteshssaxena[/MENTION] - we are still on track to win all 3 games against Pakistan this Asia cup?

 

[Rajdeep]

Even as an Indian, this victory dosen't feel very sweet as I expected us to win more convincingly. But the fact that much maligned Pandya won India the game with his man of the match performance makes me very happy fan at the end of the day.

 

[Savak]

Loss is a loss at the end of the day. Good wake up call for Pakistan early in the tournament

 

[sweep_shot]

[MENTION=146232]jeeteshssaxena[/MENTION] - we are still on track to win all 3 games against Pakistan this Asia cup?

I think Afghans can sneak in to final too. But, it is likely we may see Pakistan vs India in the final.

 

[ethan hunt]

It was indias day. Things seemed to go right for them.
The amount of time Rohit and Jadeja played and missed without actually edging one was obscene.

 

[shamaan]

You won in T20 wc last year, why would you settle for anything less than a win ?

Winning and losing is part and parcel of the game its the give all attitude that you want to see.

 

[shamaan]

I felt awful

We threw it away at the end by stupid extras. The dropped catch also cost us. India would have been reeling at 1 for 2 in the first over instead.

Pakistan fielding was poor.

 

[shamaan]

that wasnt an easy catch. Yes i felt disappointed when Fakhar dropped it but it was going away from him and was abit difficult. Cant bash fakhar for that too much. It was a catch that was flying to third slip and Fakhar at second and closer was on the move

Pakistan dropped catches against Netherlands azwell and I belive the dropped catches were in the slip cordon.

 

[shamaan]

I think the extras that Pakistan gave alongside the fielding cost Pakistan the game.

 

[MP2011]

The amount of time Rohit and Jadeja played and missed without actually edging one was obscene.

So that means you totally missed Rizwan's innings who was ugly as hell with bat.

 

[ftbno1]

The thing is Indian top order rarely fails consistently. If you can't win when you getbtohit and virat early. It will be more difficult when they are back in form. Further Avesh and Arshdeep not even in top 5 in pecking order.

 

[Shafi]

Really!!!! The real picture is far worse than you think.

Pakistan
Not every time Dhani, Rauf will be lucky to score runs
Nasim will not be that fearsome to Indian batsmen cos they are facing him first time
Nawaz will be not be same threating cos India plays spin well even when they sleep.
Iftikhar will not be that lucky to score above 20
Rizwan will more or less will do same but it will worse if he gets out under 10
Babar cannot play quality spin.
Khusdil, Asif will bound to fail. Fakhar needs luck to score even 30

India
Yesterday Indian batters had bad days which was out of ordinary.
Current Indian are too good for our batsmen.

 

[Shafi]

India will crush us next match. They are very good to learn from their mistake. Don't look yesterday's match too seriously. India were too casual yesterday. They have great batsmen and better bowlers with intelligence. Players like Ifti, Asif, Khusdil and even Fakhar are bound to fell unless opposition drop too many catches.

 

[Shafi]

I felt awful

We threw it away at the end by stupid extras. The dropped catch also cost us. India would have been reeling at 1 for 2 in the first over instead.

We were never in the game with that 147 runs thanks to Rauf and Dhani played good shots in a life-time.

 

[Shafi]

So that means you totally missed Rizwan's innings who was ugly as hell with bat.

If Rizwan failed we would not even score 60 runs. Gets your fact right. Both Dhani, Rauf and Ifti were lucky to score double digit. Babar is ok but nowhere near out of form Kohli and a easy target to a decent spinner or better fast bowler.

 

[Shafi]

This is what we all wanted from Pakistan, aside from winning.

To fight and to fight hard.

And we did that today, despite losing the game.

Am I alone feeling this way? Or have my expectations hit a new low of what I expect from the team?

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A fantastic game of cricket which went right down to the end and was played in great spirit <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AsiaCup2022?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AsiaCup2022</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IndvPak?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IndvPak</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1563953595879415809?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 28, 2022</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">147 was unlikely to be enough runs. It was only due to the fine efforts of Pakistan's bowlers that Pakistan made the match competitive <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AsiaCup2022?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AsiaCup2022</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IndvPak?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IndvPak</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1563954631876788224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 28, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Do you expect similar innings from Rauf, Dhani, Ifti and even Rizwan (who played so but still scored rather than crumble like Babar, Fakhar)? I think our score was more than a decent when we have players like Asif, Khusdil in the team.

 

[PakPremi]

So that means you totally missed Rizwan's innings who was ugly as hell with bat.

Rizwan was not edging but was failing to pierce the field.

 

[Shafi]

Rizwan was not edging but was failing to pierce the field.

If Rizwan failed we wouldn't even score 70 runs.

 

[the Great Khan]

Agree with the OP. Felt we were one hit or two away from a victory. India didn't impress me and we will get better as the tourney progresses..need to rejig that middle order and somebody please tell khusdil this isn't a tape ball gully tournament.

 

[Usman Chadda]

Do you expect similar innings from Rauf, Dhani, Ifti and even Rizwan (who played so but still scored rather than crumble like Babar, Fakhar)? I think our score was more than a decent when we have players like Asif, Khusdil in the team.

Your poor reading of this sport continues to astound me.

148 was a decent score? In what universe?

 

[Shafi]

Your poor reading of this sport continues to astound me.

148 was a decent score? In what universe?

I meant based on quality of our batsmen. we have only 2 reliable batsmen Babar and Rizwan. Fakhar perform once 10 matches. Ifti, Asif and Khusdil are not international material. If Babar fail and Rizwan score less that 50 what score do you expect from others?

 

[Shafi]

Agree with the OP. Felt we were one hit or two away from a victory. India didn't impress me and we will get better as the tourney progresses..need to rejig that middle order and somebody please tell khusdil this isn't a tape ball gully tournament.

Both Khusdil and Asif are rusbbih so as Ifti but you can only keep 1 just in case. We need 2 proper batsmen who can score at lease run a ball.

 

[MP2011]

If Rizwan failed we would not even score 60 runs. Gets your fact right.

We'd have lost had Jadeja not scored those many. How about you getting your facts right!

 

[MP2011]

Rizwan was not edging but was failing to pierce the field.

He may not have edged but played and missed a lot of times.

 

[MP2011]

India didn't impress me

Except for our bowlers (except from spray guns Avesh & Chahal) and Hardik, we were pedestrian yesterday. Our batting is associate level bad with all these prima donnas, like Kohlis, Rohits and Rahuls needlessly blocking paths of deserving youngsters for so long now.

Kohli especially is behaving like a politician, not ready to vacate his slot in team.

 

[Local.Dada]

I agree neither does the winning feel that sweet neither from the reactions of our Pak friends neither are they too bitter about he loss. Just feel relieved to get over the line .

Have a feeling most people are enjoying the win to rub into the face of some Pandey trolls especially one obnoxious one. However I feel that is a victory of the troll to get under the skin, so well done there lol

 

[DHONI183]

My father was so furious at Haris Rauf for that 19th over. After the match, when the players were shaking hands and Haris was having a word with some of the Indian players, my father said that he's telling them, "You guys wouldn't have won without me!"

 

[zidane2000]

Except for our bowlers (except from spray guns Avesh & Chahal) and Hardik, we were pedestrian yesterday. Our batting is associate level bad with all these prima donnas, like Kohlis, Rohits and Rahuls needlessly blocking paths of deserving youngsters for so long now.

Kohli especially is behaving like a politician, not ready to vacate his slot in team.

This!!!! I don't know what the OP is talking about as if this Indian team is a great team. We have seriously forgotten how to experiment for the last 7-8 years that is why our batting is in tatters in LOI's. We had relied on our top 3 for far too long with no nobody settling into the MO. Yuvraj and Raina post phase has seen no consistent MO players. Even now instead of experimenting especially with the world cup coming we have Kohli and Rohit playing (ofcourse Rohit is capt). Our spin bowling the less said the better. Chahal keeps hogging on to that spot with no really good performances for years. Jadeja and Ashwin should never be part of LOI teams.

 

[imranraf]

I agree with the original poster. Although, we lost the game, it did not feel so bad. We fought hard even after posting a below par total. Weekness of our batting showed up after the failure of Babar, and Fakhar. But the bowlers fought very hard to pull a win for us. All credit to them for a close match. Usually team batting second always have an advantage in T20s. Also, the difference between the two teams were the two very good allrounders India have in the form of Hardik Pandya and Jadeja. That's the difference.

 

[Cricfan4eva]

To dismay of my friends I was rooting for Pak to get to 150 because I was sure Pak would make a match out of it if they did and once Dahani hit those sixes. Maza agaya. Cuz I'll be honest, I am tired of one sided contests - even when Pak has won, its been one side dominating completely. It has been decades since we'd had a thriller like this.

When Rohit hit that six, I thought it was going to be one way street but then boom Nawaz just turned it around.

However you just met Hardik who's just in a completely different zone now and can win games single handedly. So don't really lose heart.

I only felt disappointed at fitness level of Pak bowlers. Admittedly there was heat but 4 overs should be done without cramping like that and Naseem is so young.

 

[TheSultan]

I wouldn’t say it “didn’t feel bad” - it definitely did feel bad. However, it was good to see some fight, esp in light some of the really poor disinterested quit job performances have put out there in recent losses to India - (2016 t20 WC, 2017 CT group stage, 2019 WC) etc etc.

What makes it worse is the small margins that made a difference and we gave it away in the last couple of overs.

 

[pratiktc]

It will feel bad if Pak lose next 2 games also to India.

By law of averages, Babar should make atleast one big score in 3 outings. Pak will hope it is in final and the bowlers can back it up to win.

If this Pak team loses to India despite Babar coming off, then their spirit will be crushed and they will go nowhere in world cup also.

 

[Kroll]

Rubbish, the batting was pathetic and any defeat against the arch-rivals is painful! Don't get soft guys.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Losing the match like we did in 2012 wt20, 2014 wt20, 2016wt20 hurt more. It showed that we were simply not good enough to compete with that team and got beaten so comprehensively.

Last night, the gulf in quality felt the narrowest it has been for over a decade I would say.

 

[Snowflake]

Rubbish, the batting was pathetic and any defeat against the arch-rivals is painful! Don't get soft guys.

I don't think it's a matter of getting soft. I am a pretty passionate fan, and have no qualms about admitting when a defeat feels painful.

However, we need to understand that this game wasn't as meaningful as most games against India are these days. It was a first round game of Asia Cup. The quality of cricket was good and if we meet India again in a KO game and win, this game would be forgotten in a flash.

So, yeah, I think many would feel, and rightly so, that this isn't as disappointing of a loss.

 

[Marooned]

Rubbish, the batting was pathetic and any defeat against the arch-rivals is painful! Don't get soft guys.

Obviously a loss is always disappointing but there were 2 mitigating factors:

1. The certainty that we are going to face India again giving us a chance to make it even.

2. To me, defeat was a certainty after 1st innings, but we came surprisingly close. This will surely lift our team morale going forward in the tournament.

If we lose again, it's going to be painful but I hope we now believe we can win the cup. This game showed the importance of keeping believing. It's a game where momentum can shift within a very short time. Dahani's cameo really rallied the team and they came out giving their all. That's the kind of spirit we need to show in the rest of the tournament to win it.

 

[Shafi]

We'd have lost had Jadeja not scored those many. How about you getting your facts right!

India still had 2 more solid batsmen after jadeja.