PAK opted to bowl against against NED in the T20 WC opener
India, Namibia and the USA are other teams in the group
Two more matches lined up today
Faheem Ashraf's late cameo of 11-ball 29 helped Pakistan edge out the Netherlands in the first match of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 at Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo, Sri Lanka on Saturday (February 7, 2026).
Sent in to bat, the Netherlands lost their way in the later part of their innings after a strong start as Pakistan bowled them out for 147 in 19.5 overs.
In reply, opener Sahibzada Farhan made 47 off 31 balls, while Faheem Ashraf played an unbeaten 11-ball 29-run cameo to help Pakistan chase down the target with three balls to spare.
Paul van Meekeren (2/20) and Aryan Dutt (2/33) were the most successful bowlers for Netherlands.
India, Namibia and the United States of America are other teams in the group.
Pakistan, the champions in 2009 and the two-time runners-up, have stirred the pot ahead of the tournament by forfeiting the marquee group match against co-hosts India. The tournament has already lost some shine after the removal of Bangladesh by the ICC for their refusal to play in India.
India open their title defence later today (7 PM local time), with a clash against the USA at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. Meanwhile, the West Indies -- another two-time champions -- will be in action. They face Scotland, who replaced Bangladesh in the roster, at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, in match 2 of the tournament. The Group C match starts at 3 PM local time.
Pakistan Vs Netherlands, T20 World Cup 2026: Playing XIs
Pakistan Playing XI: Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Agha (c), Babar Azam, Usman Khan (wk), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Salman Mirza, and Abrar Ahmed.
Netherlands Playing XI: Michael Levitt, Max ODowd, Bas de Leede, Colin Ackermann, Scott Edwards (c & wk), Zach Lion Cachet, Logan van Beek, Roelof van der Merwe, Aryan Dutt, Kyle Klein, and Paul van Meekeren.
Pakistan Vs Netherlands, T20 World Cup 2026: Squads
Netherlands Squad: Michael Levitt, Max ODowd, Bas de Leede, Zach Lion Cachet, Colin Ackermann, Scott Edwards(w/c), Noah Croes, Roelof van der Merwe, Logan van Beek, Aryan Dutt, Kyle Klein, Paul van Meekeren, Timm van der Gugten, Saqib Zulfiqar, Fred Klaassen
Pakistan Squad: Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Salman Agha(c), Khawaja Nafay(w), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmed, Sahibzada Farhan, Usman Khan, Salman Mirza, Usman Tariq.
Pakistan Vs Netherlands, T20 World Cup 2026: Live Streaming
All matches of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 will be telecast on Star Sports in India. The Pakistan vs Netherlands clash will be telecast live on Star Sports channels in five languages - English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada. Live streaming of Pakistan vs Netherlands will be available on JioStar app and website. The Pakistan vs Netherlands match starts at 11 AM IST.
(with PTI inputs)
