T20 World Cup 2022: “It’s karma” - Mohammed Shami takes a dig at Shoaib Akhtar after Pakistan lose to England in the final
Team India pacer Mohammed Shami took a dig at Shoaib Akhtar after Pakistan went down against England in the T20 World Cup 2022 final on Sunday, November 13.
Seeking to capture their second T20 World Cup title, Pakistan were left disappointed as a superior England thumped them by five wickets at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
Sent in to bat after losing the toss, Pakistan were held to 137/8. Their bowlers did give it their all, but Babar Azam and Co. eventually had to settle for the runners-up tag.
Following the loss, former Pakistan fast bowler Akhtar took to his official Twitter handle and shared a broken heart emoji.
While sharing the former pacer's tweet, Shami commented:
“Sorry brother
It’s call karma 💔💔💔.”
Sorry brother
It’s call karma 💔💔💔 twitter.com/shoaib100mph/s…
Curiously, the Indian fast bowler’s post also included three broken heart emojis.
While the context of his post was not immediately clear to cricket fans from Pakistan, Shami’s tweet was an apparent response to Akhtar’s dig at the Indian team after they succumbed to England in the second semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2022 in Adelaide.
In one of his tweets, the former Pakistan speedster wrote in a somewhat taunting tone:
“Bhaiyo aik bhi out nahi kero gay kya? (Brothers, will you not take a single wicket?)”
Team India did end up losing the semi-final to England by 10 wickets as Alex Hales and Jos Buttler added an unbroken 170 after the Englishmen were set a target of 169.
“We fell 20 runs short” - Pakistan skipper Babar Azam reflects on defeat in T20 World Cup 2022 final
Speaking after the loss, Pakistan captain Babar admitted that they did not put enough runs on the board. He, however, hailed his team for making an incredible comeback after losing the first two matches in the Super 12 round. Babar said:
“Yes, we lost the first two games but how we came in the last four games was incredible. I just told the boys to play our natural game, but we fell 20 runs short and the boys fought well with the ball.”
The opening batter admitted that losing Shaheen Afridi towards the end of the game was a setback, but conceded that such things were part of the game.
“Our bowling is one of the best attacks in the world. Unfortunately Shaheen's injury put us off, but that's part of the game,” Babar added.
Shaheen ended up bowling only 2.1 overs after hurting himself in the field while taking a catch to dismiss Harry Brook.
Meanwhile, Sam Curran was named Player of the Final for registering exceptional figures of 3/12. In England’s chase, talismanic all-rounder Ben Stokes guided the side to World Cup glory with 52* off 49 after a top-order wobble.