'No more dropped catches,' urge Twitterati after Pakistan keep World Cup dream alive
Moments after a much-needed victory by Pakistan in their match against South Africa at Lord's on Sunday, Twitter was abuzz with cricket enthusiasts weighing in on the Green Shirts' performance.
Sports journalist, Rehanul Haq, while dubbing it a "clinical performance", said the fielding was still off.
"Clinical performance by Pakistan with both bat & ball. Fielding was still well below par," he wrote.
"One final thought of the day; in a must win match, Pakistan dropped 5-6 catches yet ended up winning. Only Pakistan can do that. However, if Pak repeat this fielding effort against NZ, Pak’s not winning. Have to work on the fielding as much as possible during training," he reiterated in another tweet.
Shahid Afridi congratulated the team and especially lauded Haris Sohail's "brilliant batting effort". He, too, was disappointed with the fielding, though.
"Excellent performance Pakistan! The bowlers backed up Haris Sohail's brilliant batting effort. Hope the momentum will be sustained in the games ahead. BUT the fielding must improve so many dropped catches, can't be excused at all!" he said.
Sports anchor Sawera Pasha, whilst praising the team's performance, also expressed similar sentiments. She said that their cruise to victory would have come sooner had the crucial catches not been dropped.
"Pakistan breathes & still alive with a big win at Lords.. It was great to see Amir swinging the ball, Wahab swinging upfront&bustling with pace/reverse swing. Shadab had his leg spin going in.. had Pakistan held those catches South Africa was packed under 150! Shabash Pakistan!!" she said.
Cricket analysis portal, The CricViz Analyst, shared the following graph which places Pakistan on the top for the most dropped catches in this tournament so far.
Shoaib Akhtar, who following Pakistan's defeat to India had lashed out at Skipper Sarfaraz, also took to Twitter to express his delight at how the players had played a "pressure-free" game.
"Well Played @iHarisSohail. Pakistan played pressure free cricket today. This is what's required. They should win the game from here and keep all of our hopes alive," he tweeted.
With everyone wondering what is in store for the team as it forges ahead in the tournament, cricket statistician Mazher Arshad provided the following analysis:
"Teams with odd points. IND and NZ are almost through. South Africa will be out. WI and BD can not go above Pakistan if PAK win the next three games (which means 11 points). So, Pakistan can qualify without worrying about Net Run Rate," he wrote.
The official ICC account of the World Cup confirmed the South African side's departure with the following table for team standings:
Sana Mir, the former captain of the women's cricket team, congratulated the boys and urged them to keep the good performance up.
"Alhamdolillah! Well done boys. We need a team Hatrick from now. All the very best for coming matches," she tweeted.
Earlier during the game, as the wickets continued to fall and the target seemed to be getting further from the South Africans, Indian commentator Harsha Bhogle tweeted: "South Africa must think this World Cup is one long nightmare they are unable to wake up from. Pakistan still alive!"
Meanwhile, one cricket fan shared this relatable photo of himself glued to the match during his anniversary dinner, showing that the love for the sport can never really die. No matter how many times Pakistan loses, the faint glimmer of hope is always rekindled on days like today.