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The Pakistan cricket team is one of the greatest cricket playing nations and has a prolonged history of participating in global tournaments for over 30 years. Twice in history, Pakistan has rooted their flag in world cricket, beginning with the 1992 ODI World Cup win and the 2019 T20 World Cup win. Pakistan has managed to reach the finals and knockout stages of the World Cup, in the history of the tournament several times, showcasing their prowess in the sport.
However, there have been several instances where the Pakistan cricket team has not had a good day at work, especially at the global stage of the T20 World. Apart from maintaining a record of poor standards of fielding, Pakistan have miserably failed at several occasions and have registered embarrassing defeats against underdog cricket playing nations, or low-ranked teams like the United States of America and Zimbabwe in the past.
In this article, we’ll delve into the list of the Top 5 Embarrassing defeats for the Pakistan team in the history of the Cricket World Cup, which have left a humiliating mark for the team in international cricket.
Top 5 Embarrassing defeats for Pakistan in the history of the T20 World Cup
1. United States of America vs Pakistan, T20 World Cup 2024
The United States of America and Pakistan locked horns for their campaign opener match fixture for the T20 World Cup 2024. The hosts of the tournament and the budding cricket playing nation defeated Pakistan in a thrilling showdown, after equalling Pakistan’s total of 159 runs, at the end of 20 overs.
The teams then clashed for a super over, where Pakistan’s clumsy fielding awarded the United States of America 18 runs. USA then restricted Pakistan to 13 runs while successfully defending their target by five runs, registering a gigantic upset in the history of the T20 World Cup.
2. Afghanistan vs Pakistan, ODI World Cup 2023
Babar Azam and co faced a major setback in the previously concluded ODI World Cup 2023 when they lost a close encounter against Afghanistan, which restricted them from qualifying for the semi-final matches of the tournament.
Afghanistan successfully chased the 283 runs target after losing only two wickets, as Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah and Rahmanullah Gurbaz smashed magnificent half centuries each. Pakistan’s lethal bowling unit could not showcase their magic on the big stage and succumbed to Afghanistan’s attacking batting.
3. Ireland vs Pakistan, ODI World Cup 2007
Pakistan has a long list of facing setbacks from low ranked cricket playing nations who have not made a huge name for themselves in international cricket. One of the team’s upset came in 2007, where Ireland knocked out Pakistan from the semi finals of the ODI World Cup 2007.
The debutants, successfully knocked out the 1992 ODI World Cup winners, Pakistan by dismissing the entire batting unit of the higher ranked opponent at 132 runs. Boyd Rankin gave a stellar performance against Pakistan and picked a three wicket haul. Losing the match ultimately cost Pakistan a spot in the knockout stages of the World Cup 2007.
4. Zimbabwe vs Pakistan, T20 World Cup 2022
Pakistan and Zimbabwe have been old opponents and have an interesting history of clashing against one another for bilateral series. However, with numerous wins in the bilateral series turned out to be against the favor of Pakistan as Zimbabwe defeated the Men in Green by one run.
Zimbabwe successfully defended their low 131 run target by a single, courtesy to Sikandar Raza’s striking three wicket haul and Brad Evan’s heroic in the final over of the innings. Even though Pakistan went on to qualify for the finals of the T-20 World Cup 2022 where they were ultimately defeated by England, the initial and unexpected setback against Zimbabwe definitely shook the core of the Pakistan cricket team.
5. Bangladesh vs Pakistan, ODI World Cup 1999
One of Pakistan’s earliest upsets in the history of their cricket journey came in the ODI World Cup 1999 where the Men in Green was defeated by their neighboring country, Bangladesh. Notably, the win marked the first for Bangladesh in the history of the ODI World Cup.
Bangladesh posted a total of 2 223 runs at the end of 50 overs and successfully defended their target by dismissing the entire Pakistan’s batting lineup at 161, winning the match by a huge margin of 62 runs. After the match, several questions were raised on Pakistan’s consistency and poor performance.
Conclusion
Even though the Pakistan cricket team has been widely celebrated to be one of the greatest cricket playing nations, their consistency and lack of intent has often raised concerns in the minds of the fans and the stakeholders. Pakistan has faced several big blows and shocking defeats in the history of the Cricket World Cup, often surprising fans and the critics. One of the most humiliating was their loss to Ireland in the 2007 World Cup, which marked their early exit from the championship and was seen as a significant upset.
Similarly, their defeat to Bangladesh in the 1999 World Cup was a huge blow, marking Bangladesh’s first ODI World Cup win and raising questions about the team’s consistency, especially in the marquee tournament. In 2024, Pakistan’s heavy defeat to the budding cricket playing nation like the United States of America by 5 runs, where they failed to put runs on the board on the super over, showcased their vulnerability under pressure. These losses underscore the unpredictable nature of cricket and highlight moments when Pakistan’s performance fell significantly short of expectations, especially in front of lower ranked teams.
