T20 World Cup 2022: “We may not have the real Mr Bean” - Pakistan PM responds to Zimbabwe President’s cheeky tweet

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has responded to Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s tongue-in-cheek tweet following the T20 World Cup 2022 match between the two teams on Thursday, October 27.

Zimbabwe stunned Pakistan by one run in the Super 12 clash of the ICC event in Perth. The African nation posted 130/8 batting first and then held Babar Azam and Co. to 129/8.

After the conclusion of the match, Zimbabwe President Mnangagwa took to Twitter and wrote:

“What a win for Zimbabwe! Congratulations to the Chevrons. Next time, send the real Mr Bean…#PakvsZim.”

Responding to the post, Pakistan PM Sharif tweeted:

“We may not have the real Mr Bean, but we have real cricketing spirit .. and we Pakistanis have a funny habit of bouncing back :) Mr President: Congratulations. Your team played really well today.”

According to some reports, back in 2016, a Mr Bean look-alike Asif Mohammad performed in Zimbabwe during some shows.

In the build-up to the match, social media was abuzz with memes of Zimbabwe wanting to take “revenge” from Pakistan for sending across “fake” Mr Bean. The Zimbabwe President joined the fun after his country’s memorable win over Pakistan.

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“So special” - Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine on thrilling win over Pakistan

Reacting to the one-run triumph over Pakistan, Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine described the victory as special and also praised the team for pulling out a win from the jaws of defeat.

Speaking at the post-match presentation, he said:

"So special. Especially for the work we did to get into the Super 12s. We wanted to come in and play some really good cricket against top teams and we did that exceptionally well today. I thought after our batting performance, we thought we were maybe 20-25 short, but I thought our seamers hit their straps early on.”

On Player of the Match Sikandar Raza, he added:

“Raza again came to the party as he always does and picked up a few crucial wickets in the middle there."

The spinner claimed 3/25 in four overs, dismissing Shadab Khan, Haider Ali, and Shan Masood to derail Pakistan’s chase.

While Zimbabwe were ecstatic over the close win, Pakistan captain Babar Azam lamented a poor batting effort, saying:

"To be honest, we were not up to the mark. In the batting, we had a bad collapse. When me and Rizwan got out, Shan and Shadab built a partnership, but after Shadab got out, we had a collapse and we didn't finish well."

Pakistan needed three runs to win off the last ball, but Shaheen Afridi (one) was run-out, going for the second run that would have leveled the scores.