Pakistan only have themselves to blame for World Cup debacle, says Shoaib Akhtar

Pakistan’s prayers fell on deaf ears twice in less than a week as England crushed both their final two opponents in the league stage of the Cricket World Cup 2019 to virtually push the former champions out of the tournament. Perhaps, it was England’s best revenge of the 1992 final loss after they failed to avenge it on the field early in this World Cup. England needed to lose any of the two games against India and New Zealand so that Pakistan could pip them by winning their remaining game against Bangladesh but that didn’t happen.

Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar was disappointed to see his country getting stuck before the semi-finals and blasted New Zealand over their lacklustre show against England in Chester-le-Street on Wednesday. In almost a repetition of the England-India clash, Eoin Morgan’s side scored 305 with the help of yet another hundred from Jonny Bairstow but the Black Caps’ batting fell apart and they were shot out for 186 runs to lose by 119 runs.

New Zealand’s loss meant Pakistan could still match their 11 points by beating Bangladesh in the final league game but the statistical requirements are far too super-human for the 1992 champions to fulfil against one of the most competitive teams in the tournament. Even a win over Bangladesh will leave Pakistan so near, yet so far from the last four.

However, the 43-year-old Akhtar feels that more than anybody else, Pakistan only had to blame themselves for their poor result. He particularly spoke about the 7-wicket hammering that Sarfaraz Ahmed’s side got from the West Indies, a team which could not feat any other team thereafter till their penultimate game.

“The match against West Indies cost us badly. Then their match against Sri Lanka got abandoned. After that, they lost the game to Australia which they should have won. These three matches made it very difficult for Pakistan. They themselves have got out of the tournament. Nobody else is responsible for their loss,” Akhtar said on his YouTube channel.

Pakistan had their moments of bad luck in the tournament

Pakistan had to share a point with an out-of-form Sri Lanka because of rain while they came back strongly against Australia but failed to cross the final line. They would also consider themselves unlucky after Carlos Brathwaite’s glory shot failed to clear the boundary and New Zealand snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. While the Men in Green were kept interested by an eerie semblance with their 1992 World Cup campaign, the finishing touches went far too awry.

Also read – ICC World Cup 2019: Match 43, Pakistan vs Bangladesh, Match Prediction – Weather Report, Pitch Conditions, Playing XIs and Live Streaming Details

Pakistan did their best to win three consecutive games against South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan after having a terrible first half but yet it seemed to be inadequate in the final count.

Akhtar though urged Pakistan to give their best in their final league game against Bangladesh on Friday.