Published: February 7, 2026 at 10:10 pm
Pakistan and drama go together, in fact, it can be said that they are made for each other. On Saturday in their opener against the Netherlands, Pakistan managed to clinch a thrilling last-over win to tee off the T20 World Cup to a heartstopper of a finish.
Pakistan warded off a heroic Netherlands fightback to clinch the issue with a three-wicket victory. Faheem Ashraf rode his luck to smash 24 in the game’s penultimate over having survived a dropped chance and finishing the game off with three balls to go. The victory keeps Pakistan on course for qualification to the next round, even as it seemed nine balls earlier that they were destined for another early exit.
Pakistan were well on course for victory at the halfway mark of the chase, needing 50 in nine overs, before Paul van Meekeren struck with a double-wicket maiden, and Pakistan collapsed under the weight of the slightest pressure. Babar Azam, who needed only to anchor with the chase under a-run-a-ball, found himself slogging aimlessly and holing out to Roelof van der Merwe, and run-scoring amnesia took hold – just 21 were made in the seven overs between the 12th and the 19th, with five wickets falling.
But Logan van Beek, who had struck earlier to dismiss Shadab Khan, found his first ball disappearing over the cow corner for a six. He varied the pace and got Faheem to scoop it straight up to long-on. Max O’Dowd got underneath it and got both hands to it, only to find to his horror the ball popping back out and harmlessly to his side. Faheem plundered two more sixes and a boundary before the over was out, and Netherlands realised their chance of pulling off an upset win had vanished.
Netherlands began brightly with the bat, and continued to target the Pakistan bowlers without worrying about the fall of wickets. The 79 they put up in the first ten was comfortably their highest ten-over score against Pakistan. Michael Levitt, Bas de Leede, Colin Ackermann and Scott Edwards all chipped in with handy knocks as partnerships kept them ticking over. However, a poor final four overs cost them dear as they lost six wickets for 20 runs to finish 20 runs short of where they might have been.
Under unexpectedly bright skies, Netherlands, put in to bat by Salman Agha, who was surprised at the amount of grass on the pitch, put the pressure on Pakistan early. The first ball was dispatched by Michael Levitt for four, who hit the shot of the game with a glorious pulled six off Shaheen Shah Afridi in his following over. Netherlands are top heavy, with most of their destructive batting potential concentrated in the top five, but it didn’t stop them taking risks to keep their run rate as high as they possibly could.
The fears of Netherlands tailing after the fall of the top five were well-founded, after all. Edwards’ dismissal meant the loss of Netherlands’ last proper attacking batter, leaving them denuded for power at the end. Abrar Ahmed was varying his pace and line superbly and kept building the pressure, while Saim Ayub, mysteriously held back and bowled just once, took two quick wickets in his only over. Salman Mirza and Afridi applied the coup de grace as the last six folded cheaply; Netherlands had gone from 127 for 4 to being dismissed for 147.
Pakistan started as if they would make short work of the small chase. Saim Ayub flew out of the blocks, and once his cameo ended, Sahibzada Farhan followed in his footsteps. Netherlands appeared to have had the fight knocked out of them, and Pakistan’s win looked inevitably straightforward. Van Meekeren, and a heartbroken Netherlands side, made sure it was anything but.
It is perhaps just as well for Pakistan that Faheem pulled a rabbit out of the hat, because they might have otherwise spent the rest of their careers explaining how this one slipped out of their fingers. Pakistan were the most prepared team of any at this tournament, having played 34 T20Is since the end of May, all engineered to ensure they were acclimatised to whatever situation a T20I could throw at them.
Brief scores: Netherlands 147 in 20 overs (Scott Edwards 37, Bas de Leede 30, Michael Levitt 24; Salman Mirza 3/24, Mohd Nawaz 2/38, Abrar Ahmed 2/23, Saim Ayub 2/7) lost to Pakistan 1487/7 in 20 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 47, Faheem Ashraf 29 not out, Saim Ayub 24; Aryan Dutt 2/33, Paul van Meekeren 2/20).
