'I kept praying for him to drop it': Faheem Ashraf after lifeline helps Pakistan dodge T20 World Cup upset

Faheem Ashraf slammed an unbeaten knock of 29* off 11 balls as Pakistan clinched victory in their T20 World Cup opener against Netherlands.

With 23 runs needed off 11 balls, Pakistan almost suffered a devastating blow in their T20 World Cup campaign. Faheem Ashraf was dropped in a huge moment with Pakistan at 125/7. Ashraf needed to be the finisher as the Netherlands began to expose Pakistan's tailenders, and a defeat would see them get knocked out of the tournament. As Pakistan have decided to boycott their group-stage game against India, they need to win all their other matches to qualify for the next stage.

Pakistan's Faheem Ashraf plays a shot against Netherlands. (AFP)

Received a full toss from Logan van Beek, Ashraf went high and to the right of long-on. Max O'Dowd almost had it, but the ball popped out of his grasp, and he couldn't hold onto the rebound. In the next ball, Ashraf smacked a six, high over mid-off, followed by a dot. The over ended with an 89m six and a four.

It proved costly, as Pakistan needed only five runs in the last over. It began with a single and then dot. Then in the third ball, Ashraf wrapped up proceedings with a four.

‘I kept praying for him to drop it’: Faheem Ashraf

Speaking after the match, Ashraf said, "When the ball was in the air, I kept praying for him to drop. We wanted to finish it quickly but sometimes it happens that your team collapses. In such situations, you have to keep your nerves under control. If you look at our team, even when we don’t play well, we keep our nerves in check, and because of that we get good results."

Chasing 148 runs, Pakistan reached 148/7 in 19.3 overs, winning by three wickets. Sahibzada Farhan missed out on a half-century, registering 47 off 31 balls. Meanwhile, Faheem Ashraf slammed an unbeaten knock of 29* off 11 balls. Initially, a three-wicket haul from Salman Mirza restricted the Netherlands to 147 in 19.5 overs.