"This is embarrassing, to be polite" - Shoaib Akhtar, Shahid Afridi and others react to Pakistan's shocking loss against Zimbabwe in T20 World Cup 2022

Zimbabwe scripted a famous one-run win over Pakistan in the Super 12s stage of the T20 World Cup 2022 on Thursday, October 27. The Craig Ervine-led side defended a 131-run target at the Optus Stadium in Perth to send Pakistan into fifth spot in the points table.

The cricketing fraternity were left in a state of shock after Zimbabwe managed to defend a paltry total on the back of some exceptional bowling. On a searing surface in Perth, pace bowlers Richard Ngarava and Blessing Muzarabani got to work straight away.

Babar Azam's poor run of form continued as he was dismissed for just four runs in the fourth over. The No.1 ranked T20I batter Mohammad Rizwan followed suit soon after to leave Pakistan reeling at 23-2 after five overs.

Zimbabwe really got their noses in front after reducing Pakistan to 41-3 in the eighth over. The pair of Shan Masood and Shadab Khan steadied the storm for a bit by taking on fielders and making use of the big boundaries to stitch a small but vital partnership in the middle overs.

However, Raza struck thrice in the space of 14 deliveries to dent and derail the opposition's run chase altogether. The game was on the knife's edge and the Zimbabwe players kept their composure to seal the game off the final delivery of the contest.

The cricketing fraternity could not keep their calm as Zimbabwe pulled off a heist to send the Men in Green into disarray. Here are some of the reactions:

Thats embarrassing, to be most polite!

Agar Zimbabwe hai toh khud he ho jaaye ga sab kuch?
Nahi, khud nahi hota, kerna parta hai.

Zimbabwe beat Pakistan 🙌🏽
And do not call this an upset. It'd be disrespectful to @ZimCricketv who've played so well and deserve all the respect and praise. Pic unrelated 😛 #PAKvZIM #T20WorldCup https://t.co/RDxKasz05p

Pic 1 - Pakistan After 20 overs of Zimbabwe batting

Pic 2- Pakistan after 20 overs of their batting.

#PAKvsZIM https://t.co/amXnUFprQy

Congratulations Zimbabwe, came to Perth with a simple game plan and toppled Pakistan. Last ball affairs to much for the team in green. #PAKvsZIM #T20worldcup22

First Ireland defeated England & now Zimbabwe defeated Pakistan. Cricket is a game of uncertainties and possibilities. No team should be branded as a minnow. Looking forward to rest of the matches #T20WC2022 well done @ZimCricketv #PAKvsZIM

Elite Commentary off the final ball by @mmbangwa
#PAKvsZIM https://t.co/mobEGCY6X2

What a fabulous effort by Zimbabwe to beat Pakistan defending 130. Held their nerves brilliantly. Very happy for them #PAKvsZIM

I have nothing but admiration for what Zimbabwe have been doing these last few months. What they lack in resources they make up with spirit. You just had to see what someone like Brad Evens did today. Got to love their attitude.

Won’t call the result an upset, if you watched the match you know Zimbabwe played top cricket from ball #1 and showed how to defend a low total on a batting pitch. Congratulations @ZimCricketv on the win, your passion and hard work shows #PAKvsZIM

It’s not an upset.. It was always Zimbabwe’s match. Bad day for neighbours. 😅 #PAKvsZIM https://t.co/inXGErwqpl

Zimbabwe!!!! 🤯🤯 what a World Cup this has been so far 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 #PAKvsZIM

Terrific win for Zimbabwe👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻. They just never give up. Outstanding #ICCT20WorldCup

And the game goes to Zimbabwe!

Who would have thought it? After two games, Zimbabwe are unbeaten and Pakistan have suffered two last ball reverses.

One wonders if Pakistan are suffering from a bit of battle fatigue having played so many T20 warm-up games prior to this event.

Pakistan are yet to win a T20I in Australia

The hard and pacy surfaces seem to be more than alien for the Men in Green as their perils Down Under continue. Their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages of the ongoing tournament have taken a serious hit as they now need to win all of their remaining matches and depend on the results of the other sides as well.

Feeling that his side were well below par with the bat while chasing, Babar Azam said during the post-match presentation:

"We would have taken 130 at the halfway stage. Very disappointing performance, we are not up to the mark in batting. We have good batters but both openers got out in the powerplay."

Will Babar Azam's side be able to qualify for the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup 2022 after successive defeats to begin their campaign? Let us know what you think.