Pakistan daily hints at divisions in team

It said the team has fallen well behind the rest of the world in the T2O format in men’s cricket after its loss to India in Kolkata. However, it was all praise for the women’s cricket team for their win. 

An editorial “A win and a loss” in The News International said “for only the second time in our long cricketing rivalry with India were we able to beat our enemy at a World Cup.” It said the speech given by Imran Khan at the opening ceremony did not seem to have the intended effect, though a leaked video of Umar Akmal complaining to the captain about not being sent higher up the order hints at possible divisions in the team. 

“There are two World T2O Championships going on right now and both should be getting equal attention,” said the daily. It observed that the boys in green got the pageantry of an opening ceremony with Shafqat Amanat Ali and Amitabh Bachchan singing their respective country’s national anthems. “The girls in green got the win.” 

“It wasn’t easy for Sana Mir and her team. Even though we restricted India to a total below a hundred, we were struggling to victory and the match was finely poised, with both teams standing an equal chance of winning, when the rain came.” It added that “we were a paltry two runs ahead at the time under the Duckworth-Lewis method and that was enough to give us the precious win and keep us in the tournament”.