There was calmness in Pakistan’s chase of 148 runs during the T20 World Cup 2026 opening clash against the Netherlands at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo, before they lost their plot in the middle overs. The Dutch pacer, Paul Van Meekeren, brought them back in the clash with a double-wicket maiden over, including the dismissals of Usman Khan and Sahibzada Farhan. 

On the very first ball of the 12th over, Sahibzada Farhan, on 47 runs in 31 balls with the help of four boundaries and a couple of sixes, looked to pull the short ball from Meekeren But he didn’t get the same elevation and bounced out to the field who sprinted across to grab a fine catch to send the opening batter back into the hut.

See Also: Watch: Michael Levitt smashes Shaheen Afridi for massive six during PAK vs NED T20 World Cup 2026 clash

Two balls later, the Netherlands bowler got the wicket of Usman Khan for a two-ball duck. It was a normal delivery that got an extra bounce as Khan, looking to play it on the rise, got an inside edge onto the stumps and made his way back into the pavilion.

Paul van Meekeren gets double-wicket maiden over in PAK vs NED T20 WC 2026 clash 

Unnaturally, Babar Azam, on 15 runs in 18 balls with the help of one boundary, looked to use his feet and thump a six against Roef Van der Merwe. But he didn’t get the ball from the sweet spot of his bat and was caught by Kyle Klein as they felt the heat of the chase in the 13th over of the innings.

Watch the video here: 

@StarSportsIndia pic.twitter.com/vKVfvX5rew

— Cricket Everywhere✍🏻 (@Subhamk79241601) February 7, 2026

Earlier in the game, the Netherlands posted a decent score of 147 runs in 19.5 overs as their leader, Scott Edwards, was the leading run-getter individually with 37 runs in 29 balls with the help of three boundaries and one six at a strike rate of 127.59.

Their number three batter, Bas de Leede, got 30 runs in 25 balls at a strike rate of 120 with the help of four fours before Saim Ayub gave Pakistan a strong start in the chase with 24 runs in 15 balls. But the Dutch side made the chase hard for their opposition.

Brief Scores: Netherlands 147 (Scott Edwards 37, Salman Mirza 3/24, Saim Ayub 2/7) vs Pakistan 114/5 (Sahibzada Farhan 47, Paul van Meekeren 2/16)