India-Pakistan cricket fixtures have become infrequent but fans are no less passionate and invested in the outcomes of those matches. Winning and losing is taken seriously and it is taken very, very personally. When India defeated Pakistan quite comprehensively on Sunday at the World Cup, Pakistani fans had a lot to say about their team's fitness, level of commitment, training, dietary habits, lack of preparation…
When the Pak players missed running out Rohit Sharma, who went on to make a century and earn player of the match, Pak fans were seething at the ineptitude of their players.
The fielding of the Pak players was generally sloppy and fans were disappointed to put it mildly.
According to this tweet, the fans were more enthusiastic, committed and invested in the game than the players.
Pak fans seemed to be keeping a strict watch on the activities of the players. It was noted that many of the players were out enjoying themselves at a lounge, eating unwisely the night before the big game.
Brought in because of his experience, Shoaib Malik disappointed fans when he got out for a duck.
Skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed’s wide yawn really seemed to piss off fans. How could he! This was a crunch match! Did he really care so little about it!
There were calls for Ahmed’s dismissal as captain and suggestions for an alternative career as well.
The Indian team was seen as committed, cohesive, fit, athletic and very agile on the field. The Pak team… not so much. Fans expressed their displeasure quite unreservedly.
The charismatic, suave Imran Khan who lifted the trophy for his team is juxtaposed with the yawning, rather hick Sarfaraz here. All sorts of theories – from a biryani meal in the rain break to the inevitability of losing to the Indians – were put forward to explain that yawn.
Ahmed was unfavourably compared to his Indian counterpart Virat Kohli. Where Kohli was seen as fast, decisive and aggressive on the field, Ahmed was not.
This Twitter user was wishing for rain so that the Pakistanis could salvage some pride. Others were wishing that partition had never taken place.
A lot of Pak fans seemed to have a very jaundiced view of their team's abilities. They seemed extremely pessimistic going into the big game.
This was the general tenor of a lot of tweets from Pak fans.
This fan's rant against his team has gone viral. According to him, cricket is among the small joys that have been stolen from Pak fans. He blames unhealthy diet, a lack of commitment and poor leadership among other things. He is clearly very, very upset and a friend can be seen to be wiping tears from his eyes. The drama may be a bit OTT, but the feelings are very real.
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