Pakistan started their T20 World Cup 2026 campaign with a thrilling three-wicket win against Netherlands in a last-over finish on Saturday (February 7). Chasing a modest target of 148, Pakistan were cruising at one stage but then imploded to nearly gift the game away. However, Faheem Ashraf (29* off 11) came clutch at the end, survivng a huge dropped catch, to take Pakistan home with three balls to spare.
It was a game that Pakistan should have won comfortably but the trend of this game was similar to plenty of Pakistan games in recent years where the Asian side often imploded from cruise mode to lose games. The score read 90-2 at the ten-over mark with Sahibzada Farhan (47 off 31) in great touch. In fact, Saim Ayub had given the team a flying start through his 13-ball 24 by maximising the powerplay.
The 12th over bowled by Paul van Meekeren was the turning point as the Dutch veteran picked up two wickets and also bowled a maiden over. From 98-2, the score suddenly read 98-4. It soon became 114-7 with Pakistan's middle order losing the plot on a surface that was slowing down. The softer ball wasn't easy to hit either, meaning that Netherlands had the game firmly within their grasp.
With 29 needed off 12 balls, the writing was on the wall for Salman Ali Agha's side. Ashraf, though, smashed the first ball of the 19th over for a six to ignite Pakistan's hopes at the death. However, it could all have been over had Max ODowd held onto a regulation catch at long-on in the very next ball. Instead, it went down and Ashraf smashed two more sixes along with a boundary to virtually kill the game.
During their thrilling win, Ashraf and Pakistan achieved four new records
- Ashraf smashed 24 runs in the 19th over - joint-most runs scored by a Pakistan batter in an over in T20 World Cups
- 29 runs were needed off the last 12 balls - Pakistan have never scored these many runs in the last two overs to win a T20I game before
- Ashraf's score is the third-best by a batter at no.8 or below in a T20 World Cup run chase
- 9 catches taken by Pakistan is the most by them in a T20 World Cup match