It was typical Pakistan. The 2009 champions flirted with disaster before surviving a confident cardiac arrest against the Netherlands in their World T20 2026 opener in Colombo on Saturday 7 February. Chasing a modest 148, Pakistan cruised to a sudden flurry of wickets, making the chase look unlikely. A late blitz from Faheem Ashraf took the narrowest of hairs to see them over the line.
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For the best part of the afternoon it looked like the world was hurtling towards the apocalypse. Simply put, Pakistan failed to be Pakistan on the opening day of the big ICC event. They disciplined each other, clearly called for catches and patrolled the border without a single comical collision. They had nine chances in all, including an early ‘Catch of the Tournament’ contender from Babar Azam. After the Netherlands bundled out for 147, it looked like it would be an early evening for Pakistan, coasting to 98 for 2 in the 11th over.
However, this is Pakistan and they seem to feel it is their duty to provide maximum entertainment – especially when they face inferior opposition on the biggest stage. If you were hoping for a drama-free opening day from cricket’s Unquiet Ones, you were sorely mistaken. Between the 10th and 15th overs, the innings stalled; they managed just 21 runs, lost three crucial wickets and endured a boundary drought of 29 deliveries.
The rot started when they lost the well-rounded Sahibzad Farhan, who looked set to take the game away from the Dutch with a steady 31 off 47 balls. The decisive blow came from Paul van Meekeren, who removed the opener with a well-aimed bouncer. Even then, the alarm bells weren’t quite ringing – Pakistan still seemed to have the chase well in hand.
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Issued by:
Akshay Ramesh
Published on:
February 7, 2026