Pakistan again failed to break the jinx of losing against India in the ongoing World Cup in Australia. Pakistan has lost to India five times in World Cup events. All Pakistani fans were anxiously waiting for the crucial win against India but this could not happen due to an overall poor performance displayed by the green shirts. The defending champions inflicted an easy defeat on Pakistan as the latter failed to overcome poor fielding and inconsistent batting. The dropping of a number of catches provided a chance to India to win the game with a margin of 76 runs. Pakistan’s bowling attack failed to contain the Indian batsmen, and they posted a huge total of 300 runs despite some heroics by Sohail Khan in the last 10 overs. Pakistan’s weak points were the strengths of India, who fully benefited from its strong batting and much improved bowling and fielding. Pakistan gambled while making two changes in its usual game plan. Younas Khan was sent to open with Ahmed Shahzad while Umar Akmal played as the alternative wicketkeeper due to Sarfraz being out of form. The experiment failed. Controversies had already beset the Pakistani cricket team even before the match. Injuries to key bowlers, a ban on Saeed Ajmal and Muhammad Hafeez and the controversy of the players’ central contracts were other key concerns responsible for the failure of the team. The media frenzy around the game of cricket has changed the meaning of sports diplomacy altogether in the India-Pakistan context. Every match between the two archrivals is portrayed as a war minus the shooting. Media from both sides is playing a not so positive role. Instead of supporting the spirit of the game, media bigwigs focus on the ratings of their channels by creating unnecessary hype. Cricket should remain a sport rather than becoming a source of escalation of already bitter relations between the two rivals. Even petty politics has entered the game of cricket. The penetration of commercialization has badly affected the spirit of the game. Despite all this negativity, our team should not lose heart. Their main focus should be on winning the World Cup rather than just beating India. Pakistan have the talent to bounce back if they work on their positive points and overcome their problems. Pakistan now need to focus on other upcoming matches to win this important tournament, because cricket is still a game of chance and Pakistan is the most unpredictable of the major teams. *