HOW dreadful and heart-wrenching it feels when one`s unwavering hard work goes waste due to a single mistake. Star performer Hassan Ali dropped a catch of Matthew Wade in the T20 World Cup semi-final, and has since faced a public outcry on social media platforms by a large number of people. Such people areunaware of the sheer amount of hard work one has put into every match. They have no idea of the anguish that Hassan Ali must have felt as the ball slipped out of his hands, and what must have gone through his mind when he saw the same batter clinching the match in the next three deliveries. People who have stayed away from such social media trolling and have expressed empathy with the player themselves deserve a pat on the back for behaving like true human beings.

As for the team and its performance at the World Cup, it was great on all counts. Every player was committed and contributed to the best of one`s abilities. And that is what you want in a team game. From Babar Azam to Mohammad Rizwan and from Shoaib Malik to Shaheen Shah Afridi, they were just fantastic. The good thing is that the team`s core comprises young faces who are bound to be there for a long time. And they are bound to get even better with time.

The men in green were actually the `knights in green` at the World Cup, and they will soon have their shining armour around them that will make them invincible.

Faryal Fatima Sukkur (2) THE national cricket team played well against Australia in the T20 World Cup semi-final, but could have performed a lot better. Composure went missing down the innings. Better physical fitness and mental toughness might have counted in the equation as well.

In order to capitalise on damage control, our bowlers must be trained hard to avoid conceding a flurry of runs in tight situations. One wonders when this magnificently unpredictable side will learn from its mistakes.

Muhammad Omer Zafar Karachi (3) WAYWARD bowling by Hasan Ali and his dropped catch of Matthew Wade off the bowling of Shaheen Shah Afridi cost Pakistan not only the match, but probably the World Cup as well.

Australia clearly won from a losing position. They were 96 for 5 in the 12th over, but still chased down the target of 176 with one over to spare, with Afridi conceding 22 runs in what turned out to be the last over of the match. His stellar performance in the earlier matches came to nothing.

But, overall, throughout the competition, Babar Azam and his men played competitive cricket for which they deserve due praise. Perhaps, the luck was not in their favour in the semi-final.

K. Pradeep Chennai, India