Pakistan began their T20 World Cup campaign on a winning note, edging past the Netherlands by three wickets in a tense opening match on Saturday. After winning the toss in Colombo, Pakistan opted to bowl and dismissed the Netherlands for 147 in 19.5 overs.
Pakistan’s chase looked comfortable early on but turned tricky as wickets fell in quick succession, leaving the team struggling at 114 for seven. At that point, Faheem Ashraf played a crucial rescue act, smashing 29 runs off just 11 balls to pull Pakistan back into the contest. Shaheen Shah Afridi stayed unbeaten on five as Pakistan reached the target of 148 in the final over.
Sahibzada Farhan top-scored with 47, while Saim Ayub made 24. Several batters, including Usman Khan, were dismissed for ducks. For the Netherlands, Aryan Dutt and Paul van Meekeren took two wickets each.
Earlier, Scott Edwards led the Dutch innings with 37. Salman Mirza claimed three wickets for Pakistan. Faheem Ashraf was named player of the match for his match-winning knock.
