“Be like Shoaib Malik,” Twitter tells Pakistan as support pours in for Hassan Ali

KARACHI: After Pakistan cricket team lost the semi-final against Australia last night, cricket fans across the country were left heartbroken. It was specially sad to see Pakistan lose its first and only match in the tournament, and that too, such a crucial one. While Australia put up a tremendous fight, Pakistan was left wondering whether we could have done better. While cricketers like Shoaib Malik and Asif Ali failed to perform on the batting field and Fakhar Zaman’s run rate remained slow, much focus is being paid to the catch that Hasan Ali dropped. It was the second last over of the evening when Ali dropped a catch played by Matthew Wade. As the Pakistani player’s eyes filled with tears and regret, senior team member Shoaib Malik immediately came to console him.

The gesture by Shoaib Malik had many praising the sportsmen spirit and unity of the team. Soon after, Twitter asked the rest of Pakistan to ‘be like Shoaib Malik’ and stand with Hasan Ali instead of singling him out.

Adnan Malik, too, commended the behaviour displayed by Malik as he wrote, “This is the stuff true greatness is built of. So proud of the camaraderie & empathy in this team. Humanity is the essence of why we are here- to support, to love & to hold space. When the material disappears there’s only love.”

Another actor to show support for Hasan Ali after the dropped catch was Ushna Shah. “Please remember that Hassan Ali, a human, dropped a difficult catch during a difficult moment,” she reminded cricket enthusiasts. “No Pakistani is feeling as bad as he is. The team got as far as they did due to camaraderie and support, let’s follow their example and be kind to them all, including & especially him.”

Support for Hasan Ali has been dropping in from all over the world ever since last night.