6 Instances when Pakistan faced humiliation in front of cricketing world

From the legend Hanif Mohammad to Imran Khan, Wasim Akram and now to the era of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, Pakistan has been one of the most celebrated teams in the cricketing world. They have impressed the cricketing fraternity with their astonishing performances on numerous occasions. Be it winning the historic World Cup of 1992 or winning the 20-20 World Cup 2009 followed by a remarkable win against the arch-rivals India in the 2017 Champions Trophy.

Advertisment

They also impressed everyone with their stunning performance in last year’s 20-20 World Cup by reaching the semi-finals of the tournament. But this year’s ongoing 20-20 World Cup has come complete with a different picture as the men in green have lost two consecutive matches in the super-12 round against India and Zimbabwe respectively which has dropped them on a brink of an early exit from the marquee tournament.

Having said that, here we’ll have a look at the six most embarrassing moments for one of the giant cricketing sides of South Asia.

1. Pakistan lost to Zimbabwe – 20-20 in World Cup 2022

Advertisment

Starting with the latest one, Babar Azam’s men have a journey to forget so far in the ongoing eighth edition of the 20-20 World Cup after losing two successive matches against India and none other than the minnows like Zimbabwe. Notably, it is Zimbabwe's first appearance in the 20-20 World Cup Since 2016.

Subsequently, Craig Ervine’s men happened to stun the entire cricketing fraternity with an amazing win against Pakistan in their second match against Pakistan.

Advertisment

2. Pakistan lost to Ireland – ODI World Cup 2007

15 years back in 2007, there came a ‘World Cup of tragedies’ for Pakistan full of controversies, the death of a coach, and whatnot. The 1992 World Cup champions were appearing in the ODI World Cup of 2007 under the captaincy of Inzamam-ul-Haq.

Unfortunately, they were knocked out of the tournament only from the group stage against Ireland. It was both a heartbreaking and embarrassing loss for the star-studded Pakistan team who were expected to reach at least the knock-out stage of the tournament.

3. Inzamam-ul-Haq hit-wicket

Even after 16 years of the incident, the memories of Inzamam’s unforgettable hit-wicket are still fresh in the minds of cricket fans. Pakistan was locking horns in a test match against England in England.

The moment of Pakistan skipper hit a wicket is still one of the most embarrassing moments not only for Pakistan but the entire cricketing fraternity in the history of the game.

4. Saeed Ajmal and Shoaib Malik’s iconic catch drop

Pakistan was facing the West Indies in a One-day match, former legendary Caribbean batter Chris Gayle played the ball in the air while facing the former Pakistan speedster Umar Gul. The ball went a bit high, and everyone was expecting a simple catch on it.

But when team Pakistan is playing on the field, one shouldn’t expect simple things to happen during the match. Eventually, Shoaib Malik and Saeed Ajmal proved that as they kept waiting for each other to go for the catch and both ended up dropping that.

5. Shahid Afridi – Ball Tampering scandal

Altering the condition of the ball is strictly prohibited in the game of cricket. Nonetheless, it has been visible several times when foreign players attempted to doctor the shine of the ball in a smart way with their zippers or sometimes with things that are usually not visible clearly on the cameras.

But the former Pakistani all-rounder and captain Shahid Afridi took two or three miles ahead while tampering with the ball. He bit the ball with his teeth to transform its shape and shine.

6. Hasan Ali sustained the injury during a celebration

A few times ago, Pakistan was playing against the same Zimbabwe which has shown them a mirror in the ongoing 20-20 World Cup 2022. Ace speedster Hasan Ali’s ball went straight into the stumps and ruled out the opposition batter.

Following the dismissal, Ali went on to celebrate the moment in his trademark manner, but he ended up pulling his muscle and had to go out leaving embarrassing scenes on the ground for Pakistan.