Pakistan started their campaign in the T20 World Cup 2026 with a thrilling win over the Netherlands on Saturday (February 7). The men in green were on the verge of suffering a shocking defeat but ultimately managed to cross the finishing line.
Batting first, Netherlands were all out for 147 runs. Captain Scott Edwards was his side’s top scorer with 37 runs off 29 balls. Players like Michael Levitt (24), Bas De Leede (30) and Colin Ackerman (30) also got starts, but none of them managed to convert it into big scores.
For Pakistan, Salman Mirza took 3 for 24, while Mohammad Nawaz, Abrar Ahmed and Saim Ayub took two wickets each.
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In reply, Pakistan achieved the target with three balls to spare, but before they could mount a strong challenge. At 98/3 after 11 overs, Pakistan were chasing the target with ease. However, an unexpected batting collapse saw their score drop from 98/3 to 114/7.
In the end, the equation was reduced to 29 runs in the last two overs. At that time Netherlands were on top but Faheem Ashraf turned the match by scoring 24 runs in the 19th over. Max O’Dowd dropped his catch in the same over and the Pakistan all-rounder took full advantage of it. He ultimately remained unbeaten on 29 off just 11 balls and was named player of the match for his efforts.
Ramiz Raja faced criticism:
Former Pakistani cricketer turned commentator Ramiz Raja keeps making headlines from time to time due to his unusual comments. And he was at it again after the game between Pakistan and Netherlands in Colombo.
He was interviewing the captains after the match and his comments to Netherlands captain Scott Edwards raised many eyebrows. Ramiz Raja addressed the Netherlands captain with this comment: “Thank you for making such a challenging game available to all of us.”
This comment was considered by many to be patronizing rather than complimentary as many social media users criticized Ramiz Raja for it. He pointed out that Ramiz Raja’s comments have weakened the capabilities of the Netherlands.
As for Edwards, he handled the moment with composure and shared his thoughts on the match, saying: “We probably thought 160 would probably give us a fair chance. So we were a bit behind and we had to bowl well to get ourselves there. And obviously a few spells from Roelof (van der Merwe) and Pauly (van Meekeren) got us right into the game. I think it’s a quite good wicket.
“Pakistan got one run on the ball at one point there and Pauly bowled an over, I think he bowled a maiden or something (double-wicket maiden). And then it happened that it didn’t really take much to get that run rate going and, and the boys jumped on that pace. You know cricket can be a cruel game sometimes,” He added.
