Over milk tea at a cafe in the Pakistani city of Karachi on a Friday morning, Jaffer Ahmed analyzed the national cricket team’s surprising loss to the United States.
“It’s unbelievable and embarrassing,” Ahmed, 26, said as he and his friends lamented the defeat between bites of bread. “We have a history in cricket, and it’s impossible for us to lose to a country that doesn’t even have cricket in its DNA.”
Cricket is Pakistan’s most popular sport and part of the national identity, but its loss to the United States in the men’s T20 World Cup on Thursday was a humiliation. The national team won the World Cup in 1992 under coach Imran Khan, who later parlayed his sporting fame into politics, including a stint as prime minister.
Many Americans were unaware of the significance of the victory in Dallas, but in a cricket-crazed loser nation, it was felt keenly: Fans awoke to the news, watched highlights of the match on the road and began to digest what had happened.
“We should teach them not to lose to the Americans,” said Muhammad Saguir, 32.
Fans were furious at their team’s poor performance, with players dropping catches and missing batting attempts, giving the Americans crucial chances, said Feroz Shah, 30, who called Pakistan’s game a disaster.
Pakistan is already struggling, with recent changes in leadership in the team and National Cricket Board having hurt morale, British-Pakistani cricket commentator Atif Nawaz said in a video.
“For Pakistan fans who have never lived through the dark times, this is a bitter pill to swallow,” he wrote. Social media After Thursday’s game, he called it one of the biggest upsets in sports history.
The United States, which has never played in a World Cup, is a late bloomer on the international cricket stage. It is ranked 18th in the world. Pakistan is ranked sixth. Thursday’s win was the U.S. team’s biggest to date.
“Pakistan looked exhausted and helpless on the field,” wrote Waqar Younis, a former coach of the Pakistan national team. Social media“Congratulations to America on your big win.”
American interest in cricket is growing along with the South Asian immigrant population. Investors have poured more than $1 billion into promoting the sport nationwide. A domestic league played its first season last year, and team owners include Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. At the World Cup, the U.S. could reach the Super Eight round.
While some Americans took to social media to celebrate the win over Pakistan, many were in awe that one of the U.S. stars, Saurabh Netravalkar, works as a senior engineer at Oracle.
“Beating Pakistan is a great achievement,” current captain Monankh Patel said after the win. “I’m really proud of the players.”
As Ahmed sipped tea with friends in a Karachi cafe, another concern rang out: Pakistan will face arch rivals India on Sunday in a match that will dominate television screens in both countries.
“If we cannot beat the US, how can we beat our arch rival India?” Saghir said.
