With a shadow of boycott looming over their match against India on February 15, Pakistan cannot afford a slip-up in their remaining three games against associate nations. They nearly did just that on Saturday, coming close to ending their T20 World Cup 2026 campaign before it had properly begun, before Faheem Ashraf rescued Salman Ali Agha’s side from a major setback.Chasing 148 against the Netherlands in the opening match of the tournament at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo, Pakistan were well placed at 98 for 2 in 11 overs, needing 50 runs from 54 balls.
The game turned quickly after Paul van Meekeren dismissed a well-set Sahibzada Farhan, who was caught by Roelof van der Merwe for 47 off 31 balls. Van Meekeren then removed Usman Khan for a duck in the same over.Babar Azam followed soon after, caught by Michael Klein at long-off off van der Merwe in the 13th over. Pakistan slipped to 100 for 5 and then to 114 for 6, and 114 for 7 in 16.1 over, as Mohammad Nawaz and Shadab Khan were dismissed off consecutive deliveries.Pakistan still needed 34 from 23 balls, they could score only 5 in the next 11 balls. 29 runs were still needed from 12 when Logan van Beek came to bowl. Pakistan were staring at defeat, and the Netherlands could smell the victory.Faheem Ashraf then changed the game. He struck 24 runs in the 19th over, hitting three sixes. During the over, he was dropped in the deep by Max O’Dowd. The over shifted the momentum completely in Pakistan’s favour.After that burst, Ashraf finished the chase with a lofted cover drive for the winning runs, as Pakistan got home with three balls to spare. Just nine deliveries earlier, the target had looked out of reach.Ashraf remained unbeaten on 29 off 11 balls as Pakistan scraped past the Netherlands by three wickets to avoid a major shock in the tournament opener in Colombo.Van Meekeren and van der Merwe had put the Netherlands in a strong position, cutting through Pakistan’s middle and lower-middle order. But one over, the 19th, proved decisive as van Beek missed his lengths and Ashraf capitalised. Questions around Pakistan’s batting remain, though they were set aside for the day.
