"Chanafali Bech Rahe The Kya?" Ex Pak Stars Tear Into Team Over Netherlands Show

Pakistan narrowly avoided defeat against the Netherlands in the T20 World Cup 2026 opener in Colombo on Saturday.

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"<i>Chanafali Bech Rahe The Kya</i>?" Ex Pak Stars Tear Into Team Over Netherlands Show

Pakistan won a thrilling match vs Netherlands by three wickets© AFP

Pakistan survived a close encounter against Netherlands in the chase of 148 in the T20 World Cup 2026 opener
Faheem Ashraf scored 29 off 11 balls and helped Pakistan pull off a thrilling three-wicket win
Former Pakistan Basit Ali criticised other Pakistan batters for the poor show against Netherlands

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Pakistan narrowly avoided defeat against the Netherlands in the T20 World Cup 2026 opener in Colombo on Saturday. Opting to bowl first, Pakistan bundled out the Netherlands for 147, with Salman Mirza claiming three wickets. In response, Pakistan got off to a blistering start as Sahibzada Farhan scored 47 off 31 balls. However, the Netherlands quickly bounced back, taking wickets in quick succession and turning the game on its head. With two overs remaining, Pakistan needed 29 runs to win with only three wickets in hand.

In the 19th over, Faheem Ashraf survived a crucial moment when Max O'Dowd dropped an important catch. Capitalizing on the lifeline, Ashraf smashed 24 runs in the over and guided Pakistan to victory with three balls to spare.

After Pakistan escaped what could have been a humiliating defeat, former cricketer Basit Ali criticized the batters for their poor performance.

"Pakistan bach gaya bhai! (Pakistan just about survived). When Shaheen Shah Afridi is called in to bat, you can imagine what Pakistan batting did in that game. Bad batsmanship by the middle order, especially Babar Azam, Nawaz and Shadab Khan. These are experienced players. They have played not just in leagues across the world, but also in the Pakistan Super League. Today, they did not become heroes for Pakistan, they ended up being zeroes," former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali said on Game Plan.

"Who is a match changer in the Pakistan team? What are you going to say to a country's fans that get happy when a wicket falls just because it means that Babar Azam will come to bat. But then Babar comes and goes. Today's star for Pakistan was Faheem Ashraf, who came in at No 8. Baaki batsman chanafali bech rahe the kya?(Were the rest of the batters selling peanuts?)" he added.

Pakistan will now be taking on USA for their next T20 World Cup 2026, Group A match on Tuesday in Colombo.

Topics mentioned in this article

Pakistan Cricket Team

Netherlands Basit Ali Agha Salman Mohammad Babar Azam

Babar Azam Faheem Ashraf T20 World Cup 2026 Cricket

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