After India defeated arch-rivals Pakistan in the second match of the Asia Cup 2022 in Dubai, the former federal minister of Islamabad Chaudhry Fawad Hussain blamed Shahbaz Sharif-led country’s “imported” government for losing the cricket match.
Taking to Twitter, the former Information and Broadcasting Minister of Pakistan said that loosing match in Dubai is not the team’s fault but the present government is “manhoos” (unlucky).
“It’s not the team’s fault, the imported government is the unlucky,” Fawad Hussain said in a tweet (roughly translated from Urdu).
There are several reports surfaced over the Pakistan government’s negligence toward its players.
It is to be noted that during Commonwealth Games earlier this month, a Pakistani mediaperson Shiraz Hassan compared Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s style with the attitude of leaders from the neighbouring country.
“This is how India projects their athletes. Pooja Gehlot won bronze and expressed sorrow as she was unable to win the Gold medal, and PM Modi responded to her. Ever saw such message from Pakistan PM or President? Do they even know that Pakistani athletes are winning medals” Hassan had tweeted.
A gesture by PM Modi, who told a heartbroken athlete, that her Commonwealth Games bronze medal called for a celebration and not an apology earned accolades on social media as users globally lavished praise at his inspiring leadership.
The cricket match seemed lagging in the beginning with KL Rahul, and Rohit Sharma making an early exit however the spines straightened with Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya taking India towards victory inch by inch.
The crucial partnership between Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya helped India defeat arch-rivals Pakistan in a thrilling clash by five wickets in the second match of the Asia Cup 2022 at Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
Jadeja smashed 35 while Pandya hammered 33* in 17 balls. For Pakistan, Mohammad Nawaz bagged three and Naseem Shah scalped two wickets.
Chasing 148 runs, India got off to a bad start as they lost their opener, KL Rahul, without even scoring a run. Rahul’s wicket brought Virat Kohli out on the crease, who is playing his 100th T20I today.
Pakistan made a stunning comeback in the match as their bowler Naseem Shah bowled out Suryakumar Yadav after scoring 18 runs in 18 balls. All-rounder Hardik Pandya came to the crease to join hands with Jadeja.
In the 18th over equation for the win went down to 32 runs needed in 18 balls. Jadeja smashed a four and a six in the 18th over of the innings.
In the 19th over Pandya smashed three boundaries and took India to near the win as they needed seven runs in six balls. In the last over Nawaz gave a big blow to the Indian team as he dismissed Jadeja after scoring 35 runs in 29 balls.
India did not give Pakistan a chance to balance itself after back-to-back blows. Arshdeep Singh struck against in the 18th over and dismissed Mohammad Nawaz who could only manage to score one run.
In the 19th over, Pakistan’s Haris Rauf and Shadab Khan opened their hands to smash big hits, but their hammering was cut short by Bhuvneshwar LBW out Shadab Khan after scoring 10 runs.
In the same over Bhuvneshwar struck again, dismissing Naseem Shah scoring just zero runs.
In the last, over of the innings, Arshdeep ended Pakistan’s inning as he helped India bundle out Men in Green for 147.
Brief score: Pakistan 147 (Mohammad Rizwan 43, Iftikhar Ahmed 28; Bhuvneshwar Kumar 4-26) vs India 148/5 (Ravindra Jadeja 35, Hardik Pandya 33*; Mohammad Nawaz 3-33).
Notably, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the Indian side for displaying superb skill and grit. He hailed the Men in Blue for registering a 5-wicket win in their opening match at the T20 Asia Cup on Sunday.