Babar Azam did not mince words while evaluating Pakistan’s shock one-run loss to Zimbabwe in Perth on Thursday. The Pakistan captain admitted that they had a poor day on the field.

“It is a very disappointing performance from my team. We were not up to the mark in the batting. We had a bad first six overs, but Shadab (Khan) and Shan (Masood) built a partnership. Unfortunately, Shadab got out and then backto-back wickets put pressure on our batting,” a dejected Babar said after the match.

Pakistan were chasing only a 131-run target, but messed it up completely once their star opening pair of Babar and Mohammad Rizwan were dismissed cheaply within the Powerplay overs.

Babar accepted that there was a problem at the top of the order. “The first six overs... we are not using the new ball well. We’ll sit together and learn from our mistakes and come back hard next match.”

There were varied reactions from the cricket world on social media, but many, including some of the former Pakistan players, refused to term Zimbabwe’s win as an upset.“Won’t call the result an upset, if you watched the match you know Zimbabwe played top cricket from ball #1 and showed how to defend a low total on a batting pitch. Congratulations @ZimCricketv on the win, your passion and hard work shows,” Shahid Afridi tweeted.

Some of the neutrals echoed Afridi’s views. Amit Mishra, the former India leg-spinner, put out a tweet reading, “It’s not an upset.. It was always Zimbabwe’s match. Bad day for neighbours.”

Former star Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar, however, found the result too embarrassing to speak much. “Thats embarrassing, to be most polite!,” the “Rawalpindi Express” tweeted.

Similarly, Wasim Akram tweeted “What a shocker”, while Mohammad Hafeez was left “speechless”.

Harbhajan Singh opted for a more balanced opinion. “Cricket is a game of uncertainties and possibilities. No team should be branded as a minnow.”