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Which Pakistan defeat upset you the most?

Most Heartbreaking Pakistan Defeat?


  • Total voters
    192
- Windies Test in early 2000s. We still haven't won a series in Windies. This was an ideal chance. Saqi missed Adams or Walsh in a run out opportunity and we lost by one wicket.

You mean we got robbed by cheating umpires! A clear nick behind not given and the must plumbest of LBWs not given either near the end of the match!
 
2007 wc final

that was the time when I start believing that Pakistan too can lose from winning position.I always seen Pakistan winning close games before that game .
 
Hobart test - 1999
Series in WI when we lost the last test by 1 wicket. That was gut wrenching, bad umpiring and fielding cost us. A series win in WI would have been awesome.
 
Nothing compares to the 1987 WC semi-final loss to Australia.

First and only time we were the overwhelming favourites for the WC tournament.

Our performances before the tournie and during the pool games made it clear we were the in-form team and had the best chance. The second-best team in 87 was England and we thrashed them during the WC. The other SF spot was taken by host India, whom we had just thrashed 5-0 in India!

Hence, we really were top dog. And from there to lose to a team which was almost a minnow in those days. That too in Lahore! And what was going to be Imran's last match.

And all because of a stupid umpiring error.

Nothing really compares to that. Imran has said many times that city of Lahore has never been collectively that down, that depressed, that deathly silent, as it was on 4 November 1987 after we lost by 18 runs. No one, I repeat no one in the whole of Pakistan was expecting it - that Pak team could turn impossible losing situations into wins as if by birthright, it simply did not lose the crunch games.
 
Hobart test - 1999
Series in WI when we lost the last test by 1 wicket. That was gut wrenching, bad umpiring and fielding cost us. A series win in WI would have been awesome.

Those are my two also-rans, after 87 SF.

The 1988 series in West Indies - we were again robbed. Were clearly better than the best Test team of all time, in their home ground - and those three Tests were epic, probably the best three Test series of all time.

Shame about the umpiring, eh.

No wonder Imran and thus Pakistan became the strongest proponent and advocate of neutral umpires and the global pioneers.

We should have won that Hobart Test too - but no shame in being mugged by an all-time great in Gilly - the bloke was just a greenhorn then, but boy did he show us!!! :waqar :wasim
 
3. 1987 World Cup Semi Final : Pakistan V Aus. An ordinary Aus team. Pakistan were looking unstoppable. They needed 250 odd to win. Rameez was run out in the first over. Terrible start. Imran and Javed started a rescue act. This was ended by a terrible umpiring decision by David Shephard when he gave Imran out caught behind - he was nowhere near the ball. Pakistan faded quickly. A horrible match to remember.
It was Dicky Bird. Who apologised profusely to Imran subsequently.

Anyway - you forgot Jaffer's generosity and Waugh's heroics. :)
 
yeah thats the one. Thanks to Chui_kadoo for correction. I've modified my original post.

That loss was devastating one for the fact that we lost the series too and not because of our fault!
Yes thats the one of the worst cases of umpiring I have ever seen in that match.
So many plumb lbw's not given. It was 11 against 13 men in that game.
The umpires at all cost wanted the WI to win. The only way Pakistan were to take wickets was by bowling them out.
 
2003 - Pak vs Ind, never thought that Pak will be destroyed that way.. 2nd comes 2007's defeat, we are not in it anyway.. hehehe
 
You mean we got robbed by cheating umpires! A clear nick behind not given and the must plumbest of LBWs not given either near the end of the match!


It was even worse in the 1988 series in Windies. I have only read about this obviously rather then watched it.

It was one of the greatest test series of the modern era. Pakistan were the ONLY team at the time capable of giving the mighty West Indies a game. Imran Khan was coaxed out of retirement after the 1987 World Cup by General Zia. They travelled to the Windies and were expected to get thrashed.

Pakistan won the 1st test. They then drew the 2nd test and were a whisker away from winning AND losing (If memory serves me right) . They were chasing 330 odd and ended up 15-20 runs short with one wicket in hand (Qadir had to survive one over against Marshall to draw the test). At tea, Pakistan needed 70 runs with 5 wickets in hand and were firm favourites. (something like this anyway).

The third test was a travesty of justice. Windies need 60 odd with 2 wickets left. Pakistan were then refused countless decisions (caught behind, lbw several times). By all accounts, one of the umpires was a fat bloke called Barker and he admitted after the match to his friends that he was scared of a lynching if Windies lost!!! Anyway, Windies won by 2 wickets. Viv Richards admitted in his autobiography that he cried tears of joy and relief after this match!

Another anecdote from this series :

Remember the great Richards pose at the crease? Well Imran walked down the wicket and said 'You love yourself don't you?' Richards replied 'Yeh Man' or words to that effect. He admitted that he and Imran did not get on when they played together but they then became good friends.

Miandad scored 2 centuries in the series and was a class apart. Imran was also magnificent - taking over 20 wickets in the 3 test series.
 
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Another game that deserves a mention here is the first test in WI 1993.After a hard fought ODI series that finished 2-2 when should've been 2-3 there was huge build up leading up to first test.It was battle of pace attacks.
That was my first overseas test series live on PTV.Wasim waqar and Rehman(who was quick) blew a powerhouse batting line up in no time for 127.We needed a strong batting performance but after a promising start from sohail we collapsed to 141.
Windies recovered in 2nd innings with Haynes carrying his bat and batted us out of the game.We lost badly and never really competed in the series after that.
 
1996 QF v India: still haven't got over that one. I have waited 19 years for a WC win v India...hopefully this will be the end of that drought

Also this isn't a fair poll: a lot of fans on here won't have watched that game as they were not born or too young
 
Its really, a flawed question, and a flawed poll.

The T20 final loss to India and Semi to Australia seem to hurt a lot now. But thats because they were recent.

Time heals. It was probably the '99 final, because that was my first major final, and my whole family was overly excited, and even got a recorder especially to record it live.

So....tough call. Can't compare these kind of pains. All of them were devastating, what makes them easier is what surrounds it.

I was expecting the Ireland vote to get less, because India got out aswell, and ofcourse the thing with Woolmer made the defeat to Ireland seem not important.

I chose the India final loss, because I was already depressed after getting a bad result on an exam, and failing a job interview....so it felt much much worse!
 
1996 QF v India: still haven't got over that one. I have waited 19 years for a WC win v India...hopefully this will be the end of that drought

Also this isn't a fair poll: a lot of fans on here won't have watched that game as they were not born or too young

Completely agree.I started following cricket 1988 and never a defeat hurt so much.I didn't eat that day.
 
The loss against Ireland man i watched the whole game and was hoping for a completely
different result. ( and the death of bob was just baaad) I just stop watching cricket for a week.
 
I would also add a test match against Sa in 1997 played at faisalabad, winning target was around 125 but we collapsed under 100. Sa were rated no.2 those days after australia and we lost the opportunity to defeat them at home.
 
Still cant comprehend why on earth would you bat first on a wet wicket keeping in mind the fact that you just chased a substantial total in the previous match. (Talking about WC Final 99'). :facepalm:
 
And Test defeats hurt me a lot more than the LOI ones. BUT you cant neglect the importance of WC matches. Bangalore 96' QF was a painful experience. Jadeja's late order hitting proved to be the difference between a close loss and a comfortbale victory in my opinion, in the end. Even though Saeed-Sohail got off to a rollicking start BUT how many times have we seen Pakistan throw away the start given by the openers. Had we been chasing something around 250 mark, I think we would've definitely got over the line.
So poor death bowling, too me, was the real cause of our defeat.
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Can't forget that series finale against WI in 2000. Doug Cowie and Billy favoured the home side like anything. I didnt have anything but 'galum galoch' for Doug and Billy after the defeat. Saqlain also missed an easy run-out. Perhaps, we werent destined to win that series. Wasim, I remember, bowled magnificently in that test, took a 10-fer(?).

And less said about the Sydney test the better, I had taken a day off from the uni to celebrate a certain win BUT the team had other ideas. In my opinion, the team not only missed a great great chance to win the match but the series as well.

Dont know where should my vote go.
 
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Can't forget that series finale against WI in 2000. Doug Cowie and Billy favoured the home side like anything. I didnt have anything but 'galum galoch' for Doug and Billy after the defeat. Saqlain also missed an easy run-out. Perhaps, we werent destined to win that series. Wasim, I remember, bowled magnificently in that test, took a 10-fer(?)

yeah, Wasim was on fire (11 wicks I think), and Yousuf scored a century in the 1st innings.

THE most tense game I've ever seen live in a ground... and what a team we had... I wanted to cry after what happened, and after the umpires robbed us of victory!
 
2007 T20 final against India.

I was there to cover the event, it was a dream final of any event, every one in the media box was full of emotions, the match was in fact nail biting, when Pakistan was up we started taunting Indian press and when Indian team was in commanding position, mediamen from India started teasing us.

I remember three journalists from Karachi jumped in exitment when Misbah played that paddle shot, and in fraction of a second, we all were so demoralized :'(
 
@ToeCrusher Yea man I remember that game like it was yesterday......Wasim Bhai deserved to be a winner that day.......bowled his heart out......took 11 wickets and umpires cost us the game.....will never forget that game
 
lol, australia and india are both there 3 times :/ and the anomaly being ireland.
 
yeah, Wasim was on fire (11 wicks I think), and Yousuf scored a century in the 1st innings.

THE most tense game I've ever seen live in a ground... and what a team we had... I wanted to cry after what happened, and after the umpires robbed us of victory!

Toe Crusher, wow man, must have been heart-breaking for you. I could imagine you celebrating after the 9th wicket fell with still 30 odd runs to get against a fired up Wasim and Saqlain.
:(
 
2007 T20 final against India.

I was there to cover the event, it was a dream final of any event, every one in the media box was full of emotions, the match was in fact nail biting, when Pakistan was up we started taunting Indian press and when Indian team was in commanding position, mediamen from India started teasing us.

I remember three journalists from Karachi jumped in exitment when Misbah played that paddle shot, and in fraction of a second, we all were so demoralized :'(

Good stuff Faizan. Must have been very difficult for you guys to control your emotions at such times. After all, you got to act as a professional. :asadrauf
 
Seen Sheen,
it is not always so easy for us to control our emotions, we're journalists .. but we're human beings too.
and on a personal note, I am too touchy about Pakistan cricket team and can not tolerate a defeat against India :P
 
Seen Sheen,
it is not always so easy for us to control our emotions, we're journalists .. but we're human beings too.
and on a personal note, I am too touchy about Pakistan cricket team and can not tolerate a defeat against India :P
Like all of us..:akhtar
 
As a 16 year old now, I witnessed Pakistan finally heading to the final of a big tourney which was against India (T20 World cup).

I remember everything about it, I remember I missed half of the game as I was in school so I ran from my bus station to my house, and as soon a I stepped in, Tanvir was gone - so the pressure was on Pakistan and me (as I believed the wicket of Tanvir fell because of me stepping in the house).

However Misbah produced a magical 2-3 overs of 4s and 6s for the fans but that shot, that one shot where Sreensanth caught it with ease broke everyone's heart, I still remember Misbah lying on the pitch in pain and dis-belief, it was a sad moment and probaly the worse moment (after Aamer's incident).

After that I completely lost interest in cricket, I tried watching cricket but I just couldn't get back into it, it was just that strange feeling that got me into football instead of cricket - but after the arrival of Umar Akmal, Aamer etc I felt the new era had arrived and it was about time I become a witness/fan of that, and somehow the passion came back and it was worth it considering a year later Pakistan won the T20 World cup :D:D.
 
Modz kindly replace radio buttonz with check boxes..... because i want to choose more than one :D
 
Voted for the T20 '10 Semifinal but definitely the 07 WC final.

As soon as I saw this thread though, I thought of the 4 run loss against India in which they scored 349. At Karachi I believe.
 
Here is the fateful final over.

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/v4HmAw3-kkM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

You could hear even Rameez Raja clap that six by Misbah there ! But then that shot :( Felt physically sick !
 
Here is the fateful final over.

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/v4HmAw3-kkM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

You could hear even Rameez Raja clap that six by Misbah there ! But then that shot :( Felt physically sick !

you idiot why did you post that lol
 
you idiot why did you post that lol

Yaar it is easier to look back on it now thanks to the heroes of 2009 :gul :afridi :yk

This was a happier moment though

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/GP3BVMw2X14" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

When Pakistan eventually host cricket again,they have to play that song on the loudspeakers before the start of the match.Like England have with the 'Jerusalem' song.
 
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Yaar it is easier to look back on it now thanks to the heroes of 2009 :gul :afridi :younis

I still feel the pain, Everytime I see that. I didn't dare click play lol don't think I can watch it again. The only thing that could erase that is if we can defeat india in this world cup and eliminate them/ win the world cup. Inshallah.
 
Yaar it is easier to look back on it now thanks to the heroes of 2009 :gul :afridi :yk

This was a happier moment though

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/GP3BVMw2X14" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

When Pakistan eventually host cricket again,they have to play that song on the loudspeakers before the start of the match.Like England have with the 'Jerusalem' song.

I like the video though, makes me very excite :afridi
 
I think some of these matches should be shown to the team, as well as the WC 92 victory so they don't take things lightly
 
India surely has done a lot of damage to Pak fans through the years except the 1996 QF that I don't count mainly because Akram and few others were bribed other then that it must be a very sorry feeling losing when it counts to your arch rival.
 
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1987 world cup semi final at home against Australia thanks to brilliant decisions by David Shepherd.
 
I'm surprised the most popular option on the list is the T20WC loss against India - it was harsh, but it was nothing compared to that loss against Aus in Sydney 2010. I mean I was just gutted.

Second for me would be that defeat against Ireland. And the subsequent death of Bob made it probably the worst 24 hours in the history of Pakistani cricket. I think I rate the loss to Aus in Sydney higher simply because its more recent and the memories haven't faded away as much.
 
I picked Sydney 2010 since Hobart 1999 wasn't on here, that would've been my pick. Would've set up the series nicely at 1-1 going into Perth. But Gilchrist and Langer had other plans. 120 odd for 5 chasing 360+, you'd win from there 9 times out of 10.

Followed by Antigua, 2000. Wasim bowled his heart out in that game. 11 wickets in the game and ended up losing the series. Some really bad umpiring decisions towards the end, including a bat pad at forward short leg of Walsh off Saqlain that wasn't given. Not to mention the sitter of a run out that Saqlain himself missed.

The WC losses also hurt, 87, 96, 99, probably also in that order. But the buildup and anticipation of Test matches makes them stand out more for me. And especially these matches where so much was riding on them. Sydney and Hobart would've squared the series, something we've never done in Australia*, while Antigua would've won us a series, also something we've never done in the West Indies.

*Edit: Actually we have drawn a couple of series in Australia. But we have never gone into the final Test of a series with a chance to win the whole thing.
 
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India surely has done a lot of damage to Pak fans through the years except the 1996 QF that I don't count mainly because Akram and few others were bribed other then that it must be a very sorry feeling losing when it counts to your arch rival.

Definitely, but I guess we have to lose some too after dominating India for years. It hurts though, wonder what the results could've been without some of the shadier characters.
 
Sydney test. We would have easily won, had it not for being kami the fixer.

Dont really care about T20s
 
Too get so far and so prommisingly and then all of a sudden lose really hurts.
 
I believe the close matches are the ones that hurt the most, in that regard i think the 2007 t20 world cup final must have broken a lot of hearts in pakistan.

50 % for being against india i guess, 25 % for being world cup final, 25% for that silly shot by misbah
 
A lot of posters here are either too young or have puny memories, sheesh! To each their own.

'99 Final will always, always take the cake. I was 2 yrs old in the '87 SF but i've always read stories about it and heard from my father how bad it was, but the thing is Imran & co saved us by winning the very next title in that very same opponent's backyard, which should have healed our loss, in a similar fashion to how we won the very next T20 comp after losing the final in the 1st edition.

'99 Final never had a medicine, never had a remedy. We pathetically capatulated, slowly, painfully; damn so many tears :( And then we were like lambs in the outfield as Gilchrist butchered us and rubbed truckloads of salt into our massively split open wounds. It was. That bad.
 
And yes, if we never won T20WC, I'd still remember every single ball, moment & the expression on Misbah's face of that final. But the moment Afridi took us to victory over SL, I swear, I forgot everything about that defeat :D
 
Sry for the triple post here.. :P An honorable mention to '96 WC QF. that would be 2nd on my list after '99 Final. Simply because if we had beat India in that stadium and had the fans set it on fire (which they would have), we'd be bragging about it till this day :P
 
Sydney test.. I still think this test match was fixed.. simply because Kamran has been associated with mazhar majeed for years now.. if mazhar could arrange fixing on lords and Oval test.. I am damn sure that he did it on Sydney test too

but regardless It was a sad day.. I hope mazhar along with trio and Kamran akmal end up in jail for a long time for selling our country for dollers..

99 world cup
07 50 over world cup
07 20/20 world cup
 
man the wrost deafeat was the T20 2007 finals. we lost by 5 runs

I still remember the whole game. When ever i remember that game or watch that last ball video, man honestly i just feel like crying. Coming soooo close to beat India in the finals ah man.
 
For me it was the loss to Ireland. It hurt the most. Not only was it a loss to minnow, we exited from the World Cup. After that it would be the 99 WC final. I didn't want to go to school because Aussies had won the whole thing from a near impossible situation, and I was the only Pakistani in my year.

And finally it would be the Sydney test which I witnessed at the ground... I will never forgive Kamran for that match.
 
Sydney Test. I went crazy after that. Followed by T20 WC lost to Australia.
 
i stopped watching cricket after that WC final loss to the aussies, that was the start of our demise
 
I guess a lot of younger fans have voted for the T20 WC 2007 final.

That was nothing for me compared to the other options - 99 WC final, 96 quarter-finals, Sydney test, WI test, etc.

Besides, we won the very next T20.
 
I guess a lot of younger fans have voted for the T20 WC 2007 final.

That was nothing for me compared to the other options - 99 WC final, 96 quarter-finals, Sydney test, WI test, etc.

Besides, we won the very next T20.

Mate the game against India in the final was the best t20 cricket game i had ever watched, i even rate that final more then the 2009 t20 one. In that final(2007) Pakistan had no chance after a very bad performace by arafat.

Wickets kept falling and i think by 8overs we were 5 or 6 down something like that, and most people thought Pakistan lost , but some how Misbah and Tanvir stole the game and everyone thought that Pakistan was going to win now, but then eventually we lost when only 5 runs were needed.

I never blamed Misbah for that loss, cause he was the whole reason why we were in the final in the first place. I think the whole team should had contributed more. Only Nazir, and Misbah performed well.

I was really expecting something from Afridi in that final, but when he got out on the first ball, and see the Indian fans going happy, i was really pissed at him.


In the final against Australia, Pakistan had already lost the game from the begining, it was more of a one sided game.
 
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Will we have to add another match now again to this list? Far out, this is getting too much for me...
 
2003 the WC game against India

After that i stopped watching cricket, or watched with least interest, for almost 2 years.

it was made even more bitter when India made it to the finals
 
yeah, Wasim was on fire (11 wicks I think), and Yousuf scored a century in the 1st innings.

THE most tense game I've ever seen live in a ground... and what a team we had... I wanted to cry after what happened, and after the umpires robbed us of victory!

@ToeCrusher Yea man I remember that game like it was yesterday......Wasim Bhai deserved to be a winner that day.......bowled his heart out......took 11 wickets and umpires cost us the game.....will never forget that game

yes bro... a memory that will never fade... the genious was at his best and deserved the triumph of a first test series victory in the WI - what an achievement that would have been to add to his others..
 
Y isn't WI VS PAK - Antigua 2000 - loss by 1Wk not in the poll list? guess it's too late know..
 
I still think nothing will come close to AUs v Pak '99. I still remember Wasim giving the signal to everyone, "Just one more" (one more game to win the cup) right after beating NZ in semis.. and the way we folded to AUssies... BEZTI
 
From the list I choose Sydney.

the one that hurt the most was when Jimmy Adams and Courtney Walsh had like a last wicket stand of 50 runs to beat Pakistan. Saqi missed an easy run out and the umpire duly helped West indies.

It would have been Pakistan's first series win in WI ever. I was just gutted at the end of that.

Was around the year 2000
 
Sydney still takes the cake. Thought Pakistan would walk to a win on that last day.

In this match I was mentally prepared for a test loss to Zimbabwe over night, the game was in the balance. Also, it doesn't seem to be of interest to many, feels like one man and his dog outside of Pakistan/Zimbabwe will remember the game itself.
 
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