{ "id": "146195", "author": "26", "cnmid": "", "title": "Heartbreak in Pakistan after cricket World Cup loss to India", "lang": "en", "series": "583", "cup_year": "2024", "article_type": "General", "excerpt": "Pakistan fans were dejected Monday after a loss to arch-rivals India compounded their cricket T20 World Cup misery, with some declaring their campaign a lost cause after only two matches.", "subtype": null, "editor1": "

Pakistan fans were dejected Monday after a loss to arch-rivals India compounded their cricket T20 World Cup misery, with some declaring their campaign a lost cause after only two matches.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

"Cricket is finished for Pakistan," one spectator told his companions in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, among fans who abandoned a big-screen viewing event before the final ball was bowled.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

As night fell on Sunday, crowds had surged into the 15,000-seat Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium hoping to see a victory for captain Babar Azam's beleaguered side in a match halfway around the globe in New York.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

However a low-scoring thriller saw India beat Pakistan by six runs on a tricky batting surface, and in the moments after midnight supporters hurled plastic bottles at the screens in frustration.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

"Fate had something else in mind," 26-year-old Ahsan Ullah told AFP, as resigned fans streamed out of the stadium. "Right now our hearts are a little broken."<\/p>\r\n\r\n

The loss follows the major humiliation of Pakistan's defeat to USA on Thursday, with the co-host debutants beating the 2022 finalists and 2009 champions in a Super Over thriller in Texas.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

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'Used to embarrassment' -<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n

Pakistan and India's cricket rivalry is one of the world's great international sporting feuds.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

The game is by far the most popular sport in both countries, which have a combined population of more than 1.6 billion.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Matches attract staggering numbers of viewers -- though the sides face each other only in larger tournaments and in third countries because of long-standing political tensions.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Sunday's match was the 13th time the nuclear-armed neighbours have clashed in cricket's shortest format, with India now dominant as the victors of ten of those face-offs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

The rivalry runs so deep that India's national anthem was muted on the big screens at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, where queues snaked outside ahead of a rain-delayed coin toss.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Green spotlights raked the skies as the match began and Pakistan flags whipped back and forth in stands named after storied players like Imran Khan and Shoaib Akhtar.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Whistles, chants and cheers blared in the early overs, before midnight passed and a sober mood took hold as Pakistan struggled to chase down India's 119 runs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Asked for his diagnosis of the team's ills, Mohammad Hisham Raja -- seeking solace at a nearby restaurant after the match -- responded with one word: "batting".<\/p>\r\n\r\n

"Maybe we got too much in our heads," the 24-year-old said. "It's not an embarrassment because we're used to it now."<\/p>\r\n\r\n

"Cricket is an escape for us -- from our daily routine, from our daily lives, from things that cause us problems," he added. "But there are more problems in this."<\/p>\r\n\r\n

"I think once they come back they'll see how dissatisfied the population is, so they will obviously make some big changes," he added, predicting Azam would be ousted from his post.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

- 'Choked' -<\/p>\r\n\r\n

"Pakistan choked in the final sequence of their World Cup 2024 clash with India to somehow surrender a tie they dominated for large parts of the game," said the website of the English-language Dawn newspaper.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

"For the first time, it seems Pakistanis are struggling to find comfort in the hopes of a 'next time'."<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Pakistan next face Canada in New York on Thursday and then take on Ireland in Florida on Sunday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

They may still advance to the Super Eight in the tournament co-hosted by the USA and West Indies, with a final slated for Barbados on 29 June.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

But 32 year-old Abdul Rasheed, among the final straggling fans in the stadium, predicted "a comeback is going to be very difficult".<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Also Read: <\/b> T20WC 2024 Schedule & Squads<\/a><\/p>

"Previously, things were great but now I don't know what's going on," chimed in 17-year-old Adan Mustafa. "The future doesn't seem bright."<\/p>\r\n", "image": "https:\/\/img.cricketnmore.com\/uploads\/2024\/06\/India-Pakistan-t20-World-Cup-2024.jpeg", "alt_img": "Heartbreak in Pakistan after cricket World Cup loss to India", "alt_title": "India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup 2024", "image1": null, "video": null, "seo_title": "Heartbreak in Pakistan after cricket World Cup loss to India On Cricketnmore", "seo_desc": "Pakistan fans were dejected Monday after a loss to arch-rivals India compounded their cricket T20 World Cup misery, with some declaring their campaign a lost cause after only two matches.", "seo_keywords": "India Vs Pakistan, T20 World Cup 2024", "tag": null, "tagging": "India Vs Pakistan, T20 World Cup 2024", "status": "1", "img_rpt": "0", "google": "1", "standout": "0", "edapps": "0", "pulse": "0", "no_index": "0", "feed": "0", "fixture": null, "slug": "heartbreak-in-pakistan-after-cricket-world-cup-loss-to-india", "user_id": "0", "read_count": "1", "ians_date": null, "ians_time": null, "server_time": null, "trash": "0", "view_count": "1775", "page_break": "0", "instant_articles": "1", "auto_link": "1", "created": "2024-06-10 08:38:28", "updated": "2024-06-10 08:38:28", "img_from": "Image Source: Google", "img_source": null, "schedule_publish": null, "news_keywords": "India Vs Pakistan, T20 World Cup 2024", "livescore_text": null, "livescore_link": null, "btn_text": null, "resend_feed": "0", "google_feed": "0", "read_more": "0", "posted_by": "1", "jio_date": "2024-06-10 08:38:28", "scheduled": "0", "news_now": "1", "breaking_news": "1", "google_date": null, "featured": "0", "pred_match_id": "Select", "article_content_type": null, "link": "https:\/\/www.cricketnmore.com\/cricket-news\/heartbreak-in-pakistan-after-cricket-world-cup-loss-to-india-146195" }