Former England batsman Nasser Hussain on Monday sympathised with Pakistan, saying world cricket needs them to come back strong again after the team suffered an 89-run defeat to India in a World Cup match.
"As ever I loved the India Pakistan game yesterday loved the way both players and spectators stood/sat side by side and showed their unconditional love for the game..and a word of sympathy for the team in green they have been through a lot. World cricket needs them strong again," the India-born Hussain tweeted.
Earlier, Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed said that his team's defeat was disappointing and disheartening and admitted that the team was not doing well in all the three departments -- batting, bowling and fielding. Sarfaraz further added that the end of a good partnership and the inability to back up led to his team's 89-run loss at Old Trafford last night.
Openers Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam had stitched a 104-run stand for the second wicket, which placed Pakistan in a comfortable position before Kuldeep Yadav clean bowled Babar for 48. The wicket of Babar led to a flurry of wickets and Pakistan lost four wickets in a span of just 12 runs last night. Rain interrupted Pakistan's innings after 35 overs. However, after almost 50 minutes, the match was curtailed to 40 overs and the run-chase was adjusted from 337 to 302 based on the Duckworth-Lewis (DLS) method. Pakistan needed 136 runs off just 30 balls but fell short by 89 runs.
India batsman Rohit Sharma's match-winning knock of 140 off 113 balls resulted in Pakistan slipping to ninth place with three points in the World Cup standings so far with only one win and three losses in five matches. Meanwhile, India now sit in third place with seven points. They have won three matches from four games as their fixture against New Zealand was washed out.
The result of the match also helped India build on its head-to-head record in World Cup against Pakistan, which now read 7-0 in favour of Men in Blue. India will next take on Afghanistan on June 22 at the Rose Bowl, while Pakistan will meet South Africa on June 23 at the Lord's.
