Pakistan, on Saturday (February 7), began their campaign in the T20 World Cup 2026 with a thrilling win over Netherlands. The Men in Green were on the verge of suffering a shock loss but eventually managed to cross the finishing line.
Batting first, Netherlands were all out for 147 runs. Captain Scott Edwards was the top-scorer for his side, scoring 37 runs off 29 balls. The likes of Michael Levitt (24), Bas de Leede (30) and Colin Ackermann (30) got the starts as well but none of them managed to convert it into a big score.
For Pakistan, Salman Mirza was the pick of the bowlers, taking 3 wickets for 24 runs while Mohammad Nawaz, Abrar Ahmed and Saim Ayub claimed two wickets apiece.
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In reply, Pakistan chased down the total with three balls remaining but not before having a mighty scare. At 98/3 after 11 overs, Pakistan were looking destined to chase down the total with ease. However, an inexplicable batting collapse saw them getting reduced to 114/7 from 98/3.
In the end, the equation was down to 29 runs off the last two overs. Netherland were well on top at that stage before Faheem Ashraf turned the game on its head by smashing 24 runs off the 19th over. Max O’Dowd dropped him in the same over and the Pakistan allrounder made the most of it. He eventually remained unbeaten on 29 runs off just 11 balls and was adjudged the Player of the Match for his efforts.
Ramiz Raja faces criticism:
Former Pakistan cricketer-turned-commentator Ramiz Raja grabs the limelight every now and then thanks to his penchant for unusual remarks on air. And he was at it again after the game between Pakistan and Netherlands in Colombo.
He was interviewing the captains after the match and raised a number of eyebrows with his remark for Netherlands captain Scott Edwards. Ramiz Raja addressed the Netherlands captain with the remark: “Thank you for providing such a challenging game for all of us.”
The comment was perceived by many as patronising rather than complimentary as a number of social media users bashed Ramiz Raja for it. They pointed out that the comment from Ramiz Raja undermined Netherlands’ abilities.
As far was Edwards was concerned, he handled the moment with composure and shared his views on the match, saying: “We probably felt 160 probably was going to give us a fair chance. So we were a little bit under and we had to bowl well to get ourselves in there. And obviously a couple of spells from Roelof (van der Merwe) and Pauly (van Meekeran) got us right in the game. I think it’s a pretty good wicket.
“Pakistan got it down to a run a ball at one stage there and Pauly bowled an over, I think he bowled a maiden or something (double-wicket maiden). And then one that went for not many to really get that run rate up. And, and the boys sort of jumped on that momentum. You know sometimes cricket can be a cruel game,” he added.
