- By Himanshu Badola
- Sat, 07 Feb 2026 05:13 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
ICC T20 World Cup 2026: Pakistan kicked off the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 on a positive note as they defeated the Netherlands by 3 wickets in a thrilling contest at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo on Saturday. This was a must-win game for Pakistan, considering their current stance to boycott the upcoming match against India on February 15.
On the back of Faheem Ashraf's late, fiery cameo, Pakistan chased down the 148-run target in 19.3 overs to get the first points on board. Faheem scored an unbeaten 29 runs in 11 balls on the back of two fours and three sixes. Just when it looked like Pakistan have bottled the run chase after losing wickets in quick succession during the middle overs, Faheem stepped up with a special effort in the final two overs and took his team over the line.
He smashed Logan van Beek for 24 runs in the 19th over to turn things around before hitting a match-winning boundary off Bas de Leede in the final over. However, the Salman Ali Agha-led team wouldn't be too happy with their performance, having struggled to chase an average target despite getting off to a promising start.
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Pakistan's qualification for the Super 8 will depend on how the weather stays in Sri Lanka. Amid the uncertainty over their match against India, every match and every point becomes crucial for Pakistan. If any of Pakistan's games are washed out, the chances of which are decent, given how the weather has been in Sri Lanka, the team could be knocked out of the tournament from a group stage.
Why Pakistan's Super 8 Qualification Got Harder After Win vs Netherlands?
Pakistan looked in an impressive position to register a dominating win and achieve big when it comes to the net run rate. They were 98/2 in the 11th over of their run chase. The win helped Pakistan reach the top of the table with two points and a run rate of 0.240.
However, they need big wins to boost their net run rate in order to secure a smooth entry in the Super 8s if they didn't play India in Colombo. Had they chased down the target in 15 overs, their net run rate would have received a massive boost right at the start of the tournament. Other teams might trouble Pakistan if the Men in Green skip the India game.
"We have to do it the hard way. But I think it was when we bowled, I think we really stuck down really well. With 148, I can take that any day. We batted well in the first 10 overs, but you have five, six bad overs, like if it's two, three bad overs, you get so far away from the game. But credit to obviously Faheem, the way he batted, I think he batted outstandingly well," Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha said.