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When Pakistan Cricket Broke My Heart

The day every ball felt like a heart attack

Syed Zain
Beyond the Scoreboard
8 min readDec 29, 2024

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a cricket player celebrates on his knees and looks upward after taking a wicket in a match.
Photo courtesy of X

I turned off the TV, switched off the lights, shut the door, pulled the blanket over myself, and went to bed.

We lost a game against the USA.

It might seem like an odd way to begin the story — or even an odd reaction to such a defeat.

To make sense of it, let’s rewind to the morning of that wretched day.

It’s the 2024 T20 World Cup, hosted by the United States and the Caribbean.

Pakistan entered the tournament as clear favorites, hyped by analysts, pundits, and fans alike. The team’s bowling attack was legendary — a mix of generational talents and battle-hardened veterans.

The batting lineup, though inconsistent, had enough match-winners to make Pakistan dangerous. On paper, the team was light years ahead of the USA, which only qualified by being the co-hosts. Everyone knew the ICC(the governing body of cricket) wanted to crack the American market, but let’s be real—cricket wasn’t the country’s game. Most would suggest the US stick to baseball.

The group included Pakistan, India, Ireland, USA, and Canada with the top two teams advancing. Nobody took the USA or Canada…

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Syed Zain
Syed Zain

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