Between sips of milk tea at a cafe in the Pakistani city of Karachi on Friday morning, Jaffer Ahmed dissected the national cricket team’s surprise loss to the United States.
“This is unbelievable and embarrassing,” Ahmed, 26, said as he bit into his bread and lamented his failure with his friends. “How can we, with our cricket history, lose to a country that doesn’t even have cricket in its DNA?”
Defeat to the United States on Thursday in the match Men’s T20 World Championship is an insult in Pakistan, where baseball is the most popular sport and part of the national identity. The national team won the World Cup in 1992, led by Imran Khanwho later parlayed his sporting fame into a political career, including becoming prime minister.
Many Americans were ignorant of the significance of their victory in Dallas. But it was deeply felt in the losing side’s cricket-mad nation. When fans heard the news, they began trying to digest what had happened, watching highlights of the match on the street.
“We should teach America and not lose to them,” Muhammad Sagheer, 32, said.
Fans were angry at their team’s poor performance. Feroz Shah, 30, who called Pakistan’s match a disaster, said players dropped and missed bats, giving crucial opportunities to the Americans.
Aatif Nawaz, a British-Pakistani cricket commentator, said Pakistan had struggled, partly because recent leadership changes in the team and the national cricket board had damaged morale. videotapes.
“A bitter pill to swallow for Pakistan fans who have rarely witnessed darker times,” he tweeted. social media after Thursday’s game, calling it one of the biggest in the history of the sport.
The United States, a country that has never participated in the World Cup, is a late bloomer on the international cricket scene. It rank 18th in the world. Pakistan ranked sixth. Thursday’s victory was the biggest yet for the American team.
Waqar Younis, former Pakistan national team coach, wrote on Twitter: “Pakistan looks exhausted and helpless on the field. social media. “Congratulations to the United States on your resounding victory.”
Americans’ interest in cricket is growing along with it South Asian community. Investors have poured money 1 billion USD Expand this sport nationwide. The domestic league had its first season last year and team owners include Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella. At the World Cup, the United States came out on top opportunity qualified for the Super 8 round.
Several Americans celebrated their victory over Pakistan on social media, many of them admiring that one of America’s star players, Saurabh Netravalkarhas a day job as a senior engineer at Oracle.
“You know, it was a big achievement to beat Pakistan,” said Monank Patel, the current captain. said after the victory. “I’m really proud of the boys.”
Another concern echoed through the cafe in Karachi where Ahmed was drinking tea with friends. Pakistan is about to face India its biggest competitoron Sunday, in an event that will dominate every TV screen in the world both countries.
“If we cannot win against America, how can we win against our arch-rival from India?” Sagheer said.
