Pakistan won a thrilling encounter against Netherlands in the opening match of the 2026 T20 World Cup. Despite Pakistan being ahead for most of the game, the match ended in a draw. Faheem Ashraf stood tall for the Netherlands and troubled the Men in Green. However, during the 19th over, Faheem Ashraf was caught by Max O’Dowd, who was criticized for dropping this important catch.
In the 19th over, when 29 runs were needed off 12 balls, Logan Van Beek made a good comeback after being hit for a six off the first ball, as Faheem Ashraf misjudged the shot while attempting a six and the ball went to long on and Max O’Dowd dropped the catch in the fielding position, as the former took that opportunity and was out for 24.
Dropping the catch of Netherlands’ Max O’Dowd proved costly.
The match went away from the Netherlands after a costly defeat and Pakistan won the match by three wickets with three balls to spare. After the game, Max O’Dowd faced criticism from the fans, especially the Indian fans, and abusive words were used against him. The Netherlands batsman shared his thoughts ahead of the ongoing game against Namibia.
Max O’Dowd told the Indian Express, “Some of the comments were quite harsh, something that should never be said to anyone.” “It seemed like the Indian fans were more angry with me than the Dutch supporters,” he said. Pakistan suffered a small collapse from 98/2 to 114/7, but got over the line thanks to a short cameo from Faheem Ashraf.
A look at the comments below the batsman’s post shows comments like brother, you are a professional player, how can you give up the easiest catch?” And “Bhai pachad late catch bhikhari pehle day hi bahar ho jaate” (Brother, had you completed the catch, Pakistan would have been eliminated on the first day itself). These comments may be presented as if other comments were explicit, and more obscene words were used.
Netherlands star Max O’Dowd concluded, “We talked about things after the game, not just that catch. We could have done a lot of things better. We thought we were a bit weak with the bat as well.”
India vs Pakistan-rivalry off the field
Fans of India and Pakistan never miss an opportunity to troll each other when they lose to smaller countries. However, the number of Indian fans is better than that of Pakistan fans as Salman Ali Aga’s team has been the team that has often been trolled after faltering in games against smaller nations.
In the last edition of the World Cup, the Men in Green lost to co-hosts USA in the Super Over. After this he faced trolls and criticism from Indian fans, his admirers and also from former cricketers. In the same competition, they could not even chase down the target of 120 runs against their arch-rivals, leading to further trolling on social media.
Pakistan will once again take the field today against the United States, who almost pulled off an upset against Suryakumar Yadav’s team as they displayed amazing cricket against the defending champions.
Also read: India vs Pakistan drama: BCCI breaks silence after Pakistan government backtracks on T20 World Cup boycott
