New Delhi: Pakistan narrowly avoided a major upset in the opening match of the 2026 T20 World Cup, defeating the Netherlands by three wickets at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo on Saturday, February 7. Faheem Ashraf smashed 24 runs in the penultimate over to help Pakistan cross the winning line.

With 29 needed in the last two overs, Ashraf smashed the first ball from Logan van Beek over wide mid-wicket for a maximum, but the drama unfolded on the second delivery as O’Dowd fumbled a simple catch at long-on. Ashraf then hit two more maximums and a four to all but end the match.

Chasing the 148-run target, Saim Ayub and Sahibzada Farhan got Pakistan off to a flying start. But Aryan Dutt helped........

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