Pakistan’s Azam Babar (AP Photo/En of Jairanna). NEW DELHI: Pakistan narrowly avoided a major upset in their T20 World Cup opener against the Netherlands with a three-wicket win in Colombo on Saturday. But during the match, former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif lashed out at Babar Azam in a commentary in Hindi, saying, “Aapne bola chakka maro, kaha maar paayein, fielder peeche hai, unka takat nahi hai, unka chakka marne ka nahi hai. The pitch was shut down, he doesn’t have that power, his style is to take the ball and win the match.)
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Pakistan’s chase was far from smooth sailing. After a solid start, wickets kept falling and the team suddenly needed 29 runs from the last two overs with just three wickets remaining. Faheem Ashraf then played a key role as he smashed an unbeaten 29 off 11 balls, including three sixes in the 19th over to take Pakistan home with three balls to spare.Pakistan captain Salman Agha admitted, “We had to do it tough,” and praised Faheem, saying, “All credit to Faheem.” Faheem himself said: “We played this brand of cricket last year. The heart rate goes up and down, it’s happened so many times, we’re used to it.”Earlier, Netherlands looked strong with the bat and got into good position but Pakistan bowlers pulled it back in the final overs. Netherlands captain Scott Edwards admitted: “We weren’t at our best in all three departments today,” adding that it was the little moments that made the difference.Pakistan survived a scare while Kaif’s comment on Babar’s batting style went viral and sparked a debate among fans.
