Picture Credit: Twitter/@BCCI
Indian speedster Mohammed Shami is being targeted by social media bullies and being subjected to online abuse after India suffered a shocking 10-wicket defeat against Pakistan in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup on Sunday. Prior to Sunday's clash, Team India had enjoyed a 12-0 record over Pakistan in all World Cup matches but they were completed outperformed at the Dubai International Stadium this time around.
Shami, who has been barraged with online abuses after Team India's defeat, did not have the best of day on the field and conceded 43 runs in 3.5 overs in the match. However, he has been a senior member of the Indian men's cricket team and delivered many match-winning performances in the past. In the battle between the bat and ball, it was the batters Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan who had the last laugh on the day.
While none of the other bowlers produced a wicket, Shami bore the brunt of the trolls as he was the most expensive bowler on the night.
Pakistan openers finish the chase unseparated with 13 balls to spare
Other than Shami, India skipper Virat Kohli has also received some harsh comments and abuses with people upset with his captaincy even though he played a fighting knock with the bat for Team India. While India managed to post 151 in their 20 overs, thanks to Kohli's innings after the team had lost 3 wickets in the powerplay, the Pakistan openers made a mockery of the target set to them and reached there with 13 balls to go and 10 wickets in hand.
While Mohammad Rizwan finished with an unbeaten 79, Babar Azam remained unbeaten on 68. Post the match, Kohli said that there is no shame in losing to a team that played better on the day. He added that the team knows where they went wrong in the game and would want to do work on those areas ahead of their next match against New Zealand.
India's next game becomes almost a must-win for them since a defeat in that fixture would imply a very difficult chance of making it to the semifinals. To make matters worse for them, they do not have a good record against the Kiwis in ICC tournaments but would want to get their campaign back on track with a win.