Pakistan fans were left dejected on Monday following their team's loss to arch-rivals India, which compounded their misery in the T20 World Cup and led some to declare the campaign a lost cause after only two matches.

"Cricket is finished for Pakistan," said a spectator in Rawalpindi, as fans abandoned a big-screen viewing event before the final ball was bowled.

Crowds had gathered at the 15,000-seat Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Sunday night, hoping for a victory from captain Babar Azam's beleaguered side in a match held in New York. However, the low-scoring thriller saw India defeat Pakistan by six runs on a challenging batting surface, prompting frustrated fans to hurl plastic bottles at the screens after midnight.

"Fate had something else in mind," said 26-year-old Ahsan Ullah, as disappointed fans streamed out of the stadium. "Right now our hearts are a little broken."

This loss follows Pakistan's major humiliation of being defeated by the USA on Thursday, with the co-host debutants beating the 2022 finalists and 2009 champions in a Super Over thriller in Texas.

'Used to Embarrassment'

Pakistan and India's cricket rivalry is one of the world's most intense international sporting feuds. Cricket is the most popular sport in both countries, which have a combined population of more than 1.6 billion. Matches attract staggering numbers of viewers, though the teams face each other only in larger tournaments and third countries due to long-standing political tensions.

Sunday's match was the 13th time the nuclear-armed neighbors have clashed in cricket's shortest format, with India now having won ten of those encounters. The rivalry runs so deep that India's national anthem was muted on the big screens at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, where fans had queued outside ahead of a rain-delayed coin toss.

Green spotlights illuminated the skies as the match began, and Pakistan flags waved in stands named after storied players like Imran Khan and Shoaib Akhtar. Whistles, chants, and cheers filled the air during the early overs, but as midnight passed and Pakistan struggled to chase down India's 119 runs, a sober mood took hold.

Asked for his diagnosis of the team's issues, Mohammad Hisham Raja, seeking solace at a nearby restaurant after the match, responded with one word: "batting."

"Maybe we got too much in our heads," said the 24-year-old. "It's not an embarrassment because we're used to it now."

"Cricket is an escape for us -- from our daily routine, from our daily lives, from things that cause us problems," he added. "But there are more problems in this."

"I think once they come back they'll see how dissatisfied the population is, so they will obviously make some big changes," he added, predicting Azam would be ousted from his post.

'Choked'

"Pakistan choked in the final sequence of their World Cup 2024 clash with India to somehow surrender a tie they dominated for large parts of the game," said the website of the English-language Dawn newspaper.

"For the first time, it seems Pakistanis are struggling to find comfort in the hopes of a 'next time'."

Pakistan next faces Canada in New York on Thursday and then takes on Ireland in Florida on Sunday. They may still advance to the Super Eight in the tournament co-hosted by the USA and West Indies, with the final slated for Barbados on June 29.

However, 32-year-old Abdul Rasheed, among the final straggling fans in the stadium, predicted, "a comeback is going to be very difficult."

"Previously, things were great but now I don't know what's going on," said 17-year-old Adan Mustafa. "The future doesn't seem bright."