'Beyond embarrassing': Fans troll Pakistan skipper Mohammad Rizwan over slow scoring against India

Emotions run high for cricket fans on both sides of India and Pakistan when the two sides lock horns against each other on the cricket field. Well, the high-octane India-Pakistan match in Champions Trophy on Sunday in which Pakistan decided to bat first also got the reaction of the fans.

Pakistan fans expressed their sheer displeasure or vented out their anger on X, previously Twitter, and slammed the Pakistan skipper for struggling to hit boundaries or failing to hit the boundaries. Pakistan lost two wickets early on, which put the pressure on their captain Mohammed Rizwan, and that led to Pakistan playing 80 dot balls in the first 20 overs, which is kind of very sluggish in this era of T20 cricket, where fluency is the name of the game and teams like to score briskly.

Pakistan made a fine start to their campaign with their top batter Babar Azam looking in good touch, but once he got out at 26-ball 23, followed by a suicidal run-out by Imam-ul-Haq on 10, Pakistan's scoring rate dropped drastically.


As two quick wickets put immense pressure on Pakistan's middle order, Pakistan skipper Rizwan was joined by Saud Shakeel in the 10th over, but then the pressure of the situation got the better of them, and they had to bide their time. India managed to rush through their overs, and Pakistan went about for more than five overs without hitting the boundary. Pakistan managed to score just 27 runs.

Rizwan and Saud attempted to accelerate after the 25th over, but fans struggled to understand their overly cautious approach, especially with eight wickets still in hand.

"80 dot balls. This country's cricket culture is stuck in the stone age," a fan posted on X.

"80 dots in 120 balls! we have simply wasted 2/3rd of the balls. This is beyond embarrassing! Players and Management should be ashamed of themselves," another fan chimed in on X.

"80 dots in your first 120 balls. Wild, wild lack of urgency," said another fan.

Pakistan could be knocked out of this tournament if they lose against India on Sunday, as they have already lost their opening match against New Zealand. Meanwhile, India could bolster their chances to make it to the semis with a victory today.