COLOMBO, FEB 7 /DNA/: The Netherlands staged a strong comeback against Pakistan in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 opener, taking back-to-back wickets as the Green Shirts collapsed from 98-2 to 100-5 while chasing a target of 148 at Colombo’s Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) Ground on Saturday. However Fahim Ashraf 29 runs led Pakistan to register their first win in the tournament. Pakistan achieved the target in the last over.
After a brisk start, Pakistan were cruising at 98-2 in 11 overs with set batters Sahibzada Farhan and Babar Azam at the crease. Paul van Meekeren triggered the collapse in his second over, taking two wickets without conceding a run.
Meekeren first dismissed Farhan, who scored 47 off 31 balls, and then removed Usman Khan for a duck. In the following over, Roelof van der Merwe claimed Babar Azam (15), leaving Pakistan struggling at 100-5 in the 13th over.
Mohammad Nawaz and Shadab Khan were also dismissed cheaply, leaving the Green Shirts reeling at 114-7.
Starting the chase, opener Saim Ayub set the tone with a quick 24 off 13 balls, hitting four fours and a six before being dismissed by Aryan Dutt in the third over, leaving Pakistan at 27-1.
Skipper Salman Ali Agha then joined Sahizbzada Farhan, and the pair kept up the brisk scoring. Pakistan crossed the 50-run mark in the fifth over, which also saw Agha dismissed for 12 off 8 deliveries.
Farhan, joined by Babar Azam, continued to score at a rapid pace, as he remains unbeaten on 24 with a strike rate of over 200.
In the first innings, Pakistan’s bowlers, particularly spinners, managed to pull things back and restrict the Netherlands to 147 runs in their 19.5 overs.
After being asked to bat first, the Dutch side were bundled out for 147 in 19.5 overs, setting 148-run target for the Green Shirts.
The Dutch side began positively, with opener Michael Levitt hitting a boundary off the very first delivery. The Netherlands continued their brisk start, scoring 28 runs in the first three overs without losing a wicket.
Pakistan struck back when Salman Mirza removed opener Max O’Dowd, who attempted a pull shot but became the first wicket of the tournament.
Levitt, who looked dangerous at the crease, was dismissed by Mohammad Nawaz after a brilliant reflex effort by Babar Azam, with Shaheen Afridi completing the catch near the boundary. Babar leaped to stop the ball on the boundary and quickly relayed it to Afridi, who held on to take the wicket.
Bas de Leede and Colin Ackermann steadied the innings, taking the Netherlands past the 50-run mark inside the powerplay. However, Abrar Ahmed struck in the eighth over, dismissing Ackermann for 20 off 14 balls to leave the Netherlands at 65-3.
The Dutch reached 100 in the 13th over, with skipper Scott Edwards hitting a six off Nawaz. But the spinner struck back, removing de Leede for 30 off 25 balls to make it 105-4. Abrar then claimed his second wicket, dismissing Edwards for 37 off 29 balls.
Saim Ayub tightened the screws in the next over, removing Logan van Beek for a first-ball duck and Zach Lion-Cachet for nine, reducing the Netherlands to 129-7.
Shaheen Afridi dismissed Roelof van der Merwe for four, while Salman Mirza wrapped up the innings in the final over by removing Aryan Dutt for 13 and Paul van Meekeren for a duck.
Salman Mirza led Pakistani bowling attack, finishing with 3 wickets for 24 runs in 3.5 overs. Mohammad Nawaz, Abrar Ahmed, and Saim Ayub took two wickets each, while Shaheen Afridi contributed with one wicket.
