Netherlands was asked to bat first and posted 147 runs.
Pakistan and the Netherlands clashed in the first match of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 on February 7, 2026, at the SSC Ground in Colombo. Salman Ali Agha, the Pakistan captain, won the toss and chose to bowl first.
Scott Edwards top-scored for the Dutch with 37 runs, while Bas de Leede (30), Michael Levitt (24), and Colin Ackermann (20) contributed as well, as the Netherlands made 147 runs in 19.5 overs. For Pakistan, Salman Mirza took 3/24, while Mohammad Nawaz, Abrar Ahmed, and Saim Ayub took two wickets each.
Max O'Dowd was dismissed by Salman Mirza in the fourth over, despite the Dutch having a strong start. But Michael Levitt, who scored 24 runs off 15 balls, carried on the assault from the other end. Levitt saw an opening when spinner Mohammad Nawaz took the ball and attempted to free his arms with a stroke between long-on and long-off.
Levitt only made contact with the bottom of the bat, so it wasn't the best hit, but it would have been sufficient to cross the boundary line for a maximum. At long-off, however, Babar Azam performed admirably, sprinting to his right and catching the ball out of thin air.
However, Babar Azam was going over the boundary with the momentum, so he decided to lob the ball back in play, and Shaheen Afridi, who was backing Babar, took an easy catch to complete an amazing relay performance.
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