Pakistan suffered a crushing defeat of 89 runs in Manchester, on June 16, in one the most anticipated clashes of ICC World Cup 2019.
“Last Sunday I wanted to commit suicide. But it was, you know, it’s only one performance. It happens so quick. You lose a game; you lose another game; it’s a World Cup; media scrutiny; public expectation, and then you almost go into sort of survival mode. We’ve all been there,” said Arthur.
The defeat against India had left millions of die-hard Pakistani fans heartbroken. Various videos and messages went a buzz on social media platforms where fans drew flak on the Pakistani team for their dismal performance and demanded a much improved effort on the part of the team . Some of them even went to the extent of abusing their captain Sarfaraz Ahmed.
Pakistan made a resounding comeback after the India loss by registering an emphatic 49-run victory over a struggling South African team at the Lord’s on Sunday. With this win, the Green Shirts are still in with a hope of qualifying for the semi-finals and now need to win their remaining matches and improve their inferior net run-rate.
The Sarfaraz Ahmed-led team are scheduled to face New Zealand in what will be their toughest challenge of the tournament on June 26. In their remaining two matches they will face Afghanistan and Bangladesh on June 29 and July 5 repectively.