New Delhi, Feb 24 (IANS) Former captain Shoaib Malik and ex-allrounder Mohammad Hafeez gave a hilarious analysis of host Pakistan’s six-wicket loss to arch-rivals India in the Champions Trophy group game on Sunday, bemoaning the loss with a Bollywood song ‘Dil Ke Armaan Aansuon Me Beh Gaye’.
Talismanic batter Virat Kohli’s unbeaten 100 off 111 balls guided India to a comprehensive six-wicket victory in Dubai. Kohli’s knock was laced with seven boundaries and was instrumental in chasing down Pakistan’s target of 242 in just 42.3 overs.
Following the loss, former star pacer Shoaib Akhtar shared a BTS clip featuring Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez from a TV studio and asked Malik about his take on Pakistan’s defeat. In reply, the former skipper started singing the Bollywood song ‘Dil Ke Armaan Aansuon Me Bah Gaye… hum wafa karke bhi tanha reh gaye…’
When Akhtar asked Hafeez about his analysis, he hilariously continued the song, ‘Reh Gayeee’. Further, the video shows the female presenter Zainab Abbas joining the bandwagon and also started singing – ‘Ab to aadat si hai mujhko, aise jeene mein’.
Former all-rounder Shahid Afridi slammed Pakistan’s outdated mindset and lack of planning against the top teams in the mega event. “If you play cricket with the mindset of the 1980s-90s in 2025, you won’t be able to achieve results… Since 2017, what achievements have we had in the ICC events or Asia Cups?
“We always talk about preparations, but we often don’t even know who our opener will be. In our own conditions, we didn’t know whether spinners or fast bowlers would play more… What mindset are we batting with?” Afridi said on a local news channel.
Kohli brought back his vintage self to hit his 51st ODI century and help India inch closer to a semi-finals spot. India had come into the game as favourites and justified that billing through an impressive bowling performance to bundle out Pakistan for 241 in 49.4 overs. Kuldeep Yadav shone in the back-end to take 3-40, while Hardik Pandya bowled brilliantly to pick 2-31.
“You’re playing with a world-class team, and your attack is your defense. We couldn’t even control Virat Kohli, who’s nearing retirement. Batting has been an issue in every department,” added Afridi.
Legendary batter Mohammad Yousuf expressed his sorrow on the loss, saying, “We have put our hearts and souls into taking this team forward. The last 5-6 years have exposed the system. We’ve changed captains so many times that the team could never settle.”
Former Pakistan women’s captain Sana Mir was quite critical of Pakistan sqaud for the tournament and said, “We had already lost half the tournament the moment we announced our 15-man squad. This is the team where even captains like MS Dhoni, Younis Khan, or other big stars wouldn’t be able to do much.”
Pakistan’s hope of advancing to the semi-finals is hanging by a thin thread, and they are now entirely dependent on the results of other teams in the group.
–IANS
bc/ab
