Pakistan’s disappointing loss against India in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024 not only left fans disheartened but also caused pacer Naseem Shah to break down in tears during yesterday’s match at the Nassau International County Cricket Stadium in New York.
During the match, Pakistani pacers, in an impressive display of bowling, bowled out the Indian side for 119 runs. However, it was the Green Shirts’ batting line that fell short resulting in a six-run defeat against the arch-rivals.
Despite being 76/2, Pakistani batters lost their wickets quickly and played a lot of dot balls resulting in increased pressure on those to come next.
In the end, Pakistan’s chance to secure a memorable win was left in the hands of Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi with the former scoring 10 runs, via two boundaries, in the four balls that he faced.
However, Naseem’s efforts went in vain as the national side could only score 113 for the loss of seven wickets in the given 20 overs.
The defeat shattered the right handed batter who was seen wiping away his tears as he walked off the pitch at the end of the game with Shaheen consoling the 21-year-old.
Naseem’s brief but brave knock has resonated with the fans who took to social media acknowledging and praising his last ditch efforts to win the match for the Men in Green.
“Man even earned respect and appreciation from the rivals,” wrote a social media user while referring to the post-match pictures showing Indian captain Rohit Sharma and others’ interaction with the right-arm pacer.
“Good try lad,” wrote another.
Meanwhile, another called Naseem a hero and said that the whole country was behind him.
Another said: “Naseem truly deserves all the respect and appreciation […] though Pakistan lost, Naseem emerged as a true winner.”
Meanwhile another user said that Naseem’s reaction reflected how all the fans felt after the loss.
“We can feel the pain [..] he tried his best,” said a user.
