Pakistan avoided a shock defeat in their opening game at the T20 World Cup as Faheem Ashraf's late flurry helped the 2009 winners to a three-wicket win over the Netherlands. 

After crumbling from 98-2 to 114-7 in their chase of 148, Faheem plundered 29 runs from 11 deliveries to get his team over the line at Sinhalese Sports Club Ground on Saturday. 

Pakistan won the toss and elected to bowl first, and they made a quick start when Max O'Dowd (5) and Michael Levitt (24) were dismissed inside the first six overs of the match. 

Scott Edwards top scored for the Netherlands with 37, with Salman Ali Mirza (3-24) the pick of Pakistan's attack as Mohammad Nawaz, Abrar Ahmed and Saim Ayub also chipped in with two wickets each to bowl their opponents out for 147 in 19.5 overs. 

Pakistan made a strong start with the bat through Sahibzada Farhan's 47 from 31 balls before he was caught by Roelof van der Merwe, which started the Shaheens' collapse. 

Usman Khan (0), Babar Azam (15) and Nawaz (6) all fell cheaply, but Faheem stepped up to the plate to drag his side to victory, doing so with a blistering knock in the 19th over. 

He hammered three sixes and a four off the penultimate over from Logan van Beek, and Faheem fittingly sealed a winning start for Pakistan with a boundary.

Victory in the first game of the ICC #T20WorldCup 2026

Fireworks from @iFaheemAshraf sees Pakistan through #PAKvNED | #BackTheBoysInGreen | #WeHaveWeWill pic.twitter.com/fwdsen0r8R

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) February 7, 2026

Data Debrief: Van Beek's bowling proves costly

Pakistan knew a victory here was a must, given they have elected to boycott their fixture with India on February 15 amid the fallout from Bangladesh's removal from the tournament, placing increased importance on their other three Group A fixtures.

And they delivered at the death here thanks to Faheem's late show, but they were helped by Van Beek's bowling. Indeed, he conceded 46 runs from four overs, the most of any Netherlands bowler at the T20 World Cup in a single innings. 

It was also a fourth consecutive defeat for the Netherlands at the tournament, equalling their longest losing run in the history of the competition, having also lost four on the spin back in October 2022.