They say “catches wins you matches” and this could have been the scene for the Pakistan cricket team last night during the semi-final against Australia, which they lost. The Pakistani skipper Babar Azam has highlighted that it was Matthew Wade’s dropped catch by Hasan Ali in the 19th over that turned the game for Australia as they thrashed Pakistan by a five-wicket win in the second semi-final to book their spot for the final showdown with New Zealand.
Chasing the target of 177 runs for victory, the Australian cricket team needed 22 runs off the last two overs. The game that looked in favor of Pakistan initially, was taken by storm by Matthew Wade, who went bonkers with the bat in the 19th over and helped his side win the semi-final after smashing back-to-back sixes.
However, before Wade’s heroics, he was dropped by Hasan Ali, and probably this is where the game flipped 360 degrees for Pakistan. Hasan Ali not just dropped the catch but also the prestigious trophy from the hands of the Pakistan team as Matthew Wade smashed Shaheen Afridi for three sixes and booked Pakistan’s boarding passes for return.
After the defeat, Pakistan’s skipper Babar Azam talked about the game, where he highlighted how the dropped catch could have made all the difference. He had said:
“The turning point was that dropped catch by Hasan Ali. Had we taken it, the scenario could have been different”.
However, the statement from Babar Azam didn’t go down well with the fans as they felt that a leader doesn’t throw his teammates under the bus. Many even compared him to the likes of MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli. There were many who asked Babar Azam to learn something from Shoaib Malik, who was seen backing Hasan Ali after the unfortunate dropped catch.
Here, check out how fans are trolling Babar Azam:
https://twitter.com/gun_steyn/status/1458901040464416768?s=20
Nah mentality like this is horrific. You can’t publicly just blame 1 player like that https://t.co/zhBI4jNKZO
— Karl (@LFC__Karl) November 11, 2021
I absolutely admire Virat and Dhoni in such cases
They never through their players under the bus even in such cases
Respect— Eminent Socialist (@wnnabesocial) November 11, 2021
wtf is this , he is clearly blaming hasan ali
dont he know how to support his team mates— Anika Singh (@Its_Anika_18) November 11, 2021
This is not a correct statement to say in post-match presentation even though you know if that’s the reason.
— Aditya Saha (@Adityakrsaha) November 11, 2021
Guy is just putting the blame on one player now . Wrong from him
— Kaygee18 (@Kaygee1803) November 11, 2021
Wharra captain, no accountability. Openly putting blame on a player
— MK (@NotMK45) November 11, 2021
Not a great remark by a captain! These things are part & parcel of a game! Babar should choose his words better instead of throwing his player under the bus!
Learn from Kohli, how he backs his players inspite of anything!! ?— Shubham Misra Writing Thesis ?
(@Shubham_Neuro) November 11, 2021
(@Shubham_Neuro) Didn’t expect such a statement from a captain though.. it will be very difficult for Hassan Ali to come out of this guilt trip..
— Aمّاr (@Ammarkapadia6) November 11, 2021
Throwing his player under the bus after defeat.. Captain babar ( who himself scored 39 runs in 34 balls)
— Kri (@KrishK74) November 11, 2021
Bad example from Babar tbh. Shouldn’t pinpoint a player like this in press conference. Very bad for the confidence of the player!
— Prabhat Ranjan (@Prabhat_7msd) November 11, 2021
