Islamabad:  After India defeated Pakistan yesterday  by four wickets in the high-octane opening match of the T20 World Cup, many cricket fanatics took to social media to express their disappointment in the team's performance.  

However, considering that the Pakistani team fought till the end and tried its best to save the match, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif came to its rescue and bucked the Green Shirts up. Taking to Twitter, the PM wrote: "Brilliant effort, Team Pakistan. Great game!" Similar sentiments were echoed by PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz, who appreciated the team for employing efforts while rooting for it for the next match.

"There's no shame in going down while putting up a valiant fight. It's the effort that matters and we saw lots of it today. The match was an absolute cliffhanger and could've gone anywhere. Buck up Boys & gear up for the next fight!" Chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Ramiz Raja also praised the team for putting up a "classic" show and said that he was "proud" of it.

"A classic! You win some you lose some and as we all know this game can be cruel and unfair .#TeamPakistan couldn’t have given more with bat and ball. Very proud of the effort!" he wrote in a tweet. Earlier today, the partnership of Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya sailed India to victory against Pakistan by four wickets at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Australia.

In their chase of 160, India suffered early blows as they lost four wickets. But when Kohli and Pandya stepped in, they helped the team bounce back and piled pressure on the bowlers. Before Pandya's (40) dismissal, he and Kohli (82) shared a partnership of 113 runs off 78 balls. Although they dominated the match together, India suffered a setback after Panday's dismissal and the match entered a nerve-wracking phase in the last over. India needed 16 runs in the final over, when Mohammad Nawaz bowled Pandya. In the beginning, it seemed like Pakistan were on top, but Nawaz's no-ball and six from Kohli set the stage for India and although Dinesh Karthik was sent back to the pavilion, it did not affect the Men In Blue's determination to win.

At the end of 20 overs, India stood at 160 for the loss of eight wickets. Kohli was awarded the Man of The Match award. For Pakistan, Haris Rauf and Mohammad Nawaz took two wickets each, while Naseem Shah was able to get one scalp.

Published in The Daily National Courier, October, 24 2022

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