Jokes, memes take over Twitter as Pakistan beat India in T20 World Cup opener 

This photo shows happy Sarim Akhtar - whose disappointed face when Pakistan dropped a catch against Australia in an ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 match became a viral meme. (Digink)
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Updated 02 November 2021
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Jokes, memes take over Twitter as Pakistan beat India in T20 World Cup opener 

  • The fear and anticipation of a match between the archrivals brought out the best of cricket commentary on Twitter 
  • "I could confess to murder right now and no one on my timeline would notice," a user commented on the Twitter frenzy

RAWALPINDI:  As Pakistan crushed India by 10 wickets on Sunday to register their first win over arch-rivals India in a Twenty20 World Cup, Twitter users did what they do best: use humour and memes to prepare for the high-octane game and ultimately to celebrate a much-needed win.

The internet was so abuzz with real time commentary on the match that Twitter user @LahoriElite wrote: "I could confess to murder right now and no one on my TL [time line] would notice."

And journalist Amber Rahim Shamsi let Twitter know she would not be watching the match but "watching the memes."

Twitter user @Wiscrible posted ahead of the match, flipping the classic "may the best team win" on its head to "may the best team lose,” a dig at India for always beating Pakistan.

Twitter user Maudlin Brunette shared a meme with the team's World Cup kit and her own: a prayer mat and beads.

Many tweeps posted about what they believed to be the inevitable - Pakistan losing to India.

“Pakistan's chances as strong as the evidence against Aryan Khan,” cricket commentator Ahmer Naqvi wrote. And in a second tweet: “Pakistani batting as reliable and resilient as Indian secularism.”

Even as the team began to do well, twitter user Taimoor Zaman said its reputation for being unpredictable meant no one could rest easy: "Only Pakistani fans can be in tension with still all 10 wickets in hand."

But when Babar started firing the shots, Naqvi wrote:

“That shot from Babar was so makhan [butter] my cholesterol rose watching it.”

Pakistan cricket commentary platform Change of Pace shared a popular meme format that has become a favorite of Babar fans, with the Pakistan captain calling out "the audacity" of bowlers bowling at him.

Sarim Akhtar - whose disappointed face when Pakistan dropped a catch against Australia in an ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 match became a viral meme - shared an edited version of the famous photo: "The happiest person right now."

Pakistani digital artist Digink shared his own edited version of Akhtar's meme.

Twitter user @Shumyl said he was “so happy for a moment I forgot petrol is PKR 138."

“Samajh nahi aa rahi inn jazbaat ka kya karein love you babar rizwan love youuuu,” economics professor and cricket super fan Umair Javed wrote, naming the two players who took apart Indian bowling and steered their team home with 13 balls to spare in Dubai.

And a Twitter user called Amirr capped it all with: “Honestly jeet ker kia tweet karna hai samaj nahi lagti - haray hotay tou abhi tweet pe tweet nazil ho raha hota.”

And what would any major event these days be without a Squid Game meme?

 


Pakistani stocks breach 176,000 points barrier as investors expect further rate cuts

Updated 01 January 2026
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Pakistani stocks breach 176,000 points barrier as investors expect further rate cuts

  • Pakistani financial analyst attributes surge to falling inflation, investors expecting further policy rate cuts
  • Pakistan’s finance ministry said Thursday that inflation had slowed to 5.6 percent year-on-year in December 

KARACHI: Pakistani stocks continued their bullish run on Thursday, breaching the 176,000 points barrier for the first time after trading ended, with analysts attributing the surge to investors expecting further cuts in the policy rate. 

The KSE-100 benchmark gained 2,301.17 points at close of business on Thursday, marking an increase of 1.32 percent to settle at 176,355.49 points. 

Pakistan’s central bank cut its key policy rate by 50 basis points to 10.5 percent last ‌month, breaking a four-meeting ‌hold in a move ‌that ⁠surprised ​markets. Pakistan’s consumer price inflation slowed to 5.6 percent year-on-year in December, while prices fell on a monthly basis as per data from the finance ministry. 

“Upbeat data for consumer price index (CPI) inflation at 5.6pc in December 2025 [with] investors expecting a further State Bank of Pakistan rate cuts on falling inflation data,” Ahsan Mehanti, CEO of Arif Habib Commodities Ltd., told Arab News. 

The stock market witnessed a trading volume of 1,402.650 million shares, with a traded value of Rs48.424 billion ($173 million), compared with 957.239 million shares valued at Rs44.231 billion ($158 million) during the previous session.

Topline Securities, a leading brokerage firm in Pakistan, credited the surge to strong buying at the first session.

“This positivity can be accredited to buying by local institutions on the start of the new calendar year,” it said. 

Pakistan’s Finance Adviser Khurram Schehzad highlighted that the bullish trend at the stock market reflected “strong investor confidence.”

“With lower inflation, affordable fuel, stronger reserves, rising digitization and a buoyant capital market, Pakistan’s economic outlook is clearly improving--supporting greater confidence, better investment sentiment and more positive momentum for 2026,” he said on social media platform X.