Pakistan vs Netherlands highlights, T20 World Cup 2026: Pakistan overcome massive Dutch upset scare, win by 3 wickets

That's it. Faheem Ashraf hits the winning runs as Pakistan pull off a thriller with a 24-run over to take the game away from Netherlands. Pakistan win by 3 wickets.

BANGGGG!!!!! Faheem Ashraf smashes Logan van Beek over deep mid-wicket for a six to ease te pressre. What a strike from the left-hander. DROPPPEDDD!!! Ashraf goes for a biggie in the next, but Max O'Dawd fumbles twice to give the Pakistan batter a life at long on. Scott Edwards is not happy. SIXXX again from Ashraf. In the slot, the left hander goes over the long off boundary. Its going to be a thriller. INTO THE STANDS again. Six more for Ashraf, followed by a boundary. 24 runs come off the over. O'Dawd must be feeling the heat.

It's getting tougher for Pakistan. 33 runs needed in the final three overs at 11 runs per over. What a brilliant over from Paul van Meekeren as he concedes just four runs in the over. Its been 44 balls since the last boundary. Are we heading towards the first upset of this edition?

OUTTT!!! Two wickets in two balls for Netherlands. Shadab Khan gets a faint edge as Pakistan have lost their seventh wicket. Shadab takes the review but to no avail as UltraEdge shows a feather edge. Logan van Beek strikes. Shaheen Shah Afridi comes in the middle.

OUTTTT!!!!! Huge wicket for Netherlands as Mohammed Nawaz gets a top edge and Scott Edwards takes an easy catch. The Dutch are excited. The required run rate have suddenly shot up from 7.71 to 8.5 in a blink of an eye. Kyle Klein takes the wicket.

The run rate have shot up for Pakistan after a middle order collapse. Netherlands are not giving an inch to the Pakistanis. The current run rate is 7.3 while the required run rate is 7.71. Its been 29 deliveries since the last boundary for Pakistan. This shows how Netherlands have squeezed the opposition. Netherlands have never beaten Pakistan in international cricket.

OUTTTT!!!!! What a comeback for Netherlands. After losing two wickets in the previous over, Pakistan are self imploding. In an attempt to go over the top and ease the pressure, Babar Azam holes out to Kyle Klein who takes a brilliant running catch. Roelof van der Merwe strikes. Babar goes back for 15. Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz have joined hands in the chase.

OUTTTT!!!! Big wicket for Netherlands at a crucial stage. Sahibzada Farhan tries to go over the top off Paul van Meekeren, but didn't get the elevation. Roelof van der Merwe takes a blinder to send back Farhan for 47. OUTTT!!! Two in the over for Van Meekeren as Usman Khan loses his off stump while trying to play a late cut. Suddenly, Netherlands are back in the game.

The runs have dried up for Pakistan since the departure of Salman Ali Agha. In the past four overs, only three boundaries have come for Pakistan and that too from Sahibzada Farhan. First boundary for Babar Azam, a flick off the pads towards the fine leg. For Netherlands, they need wickets if the Dutchmen want to get back in the game.

OUTTTT!!!! Chasing 148, Pakistan have lost captain Salman Ali Agha, after a flying start. After being smashed for a flurry of boundaries in the over, Salman Agha made some room for himself, but failed to keep it down as Michael Levitt takes the catch at cover point. Babar Azam joins Sahibzada Farhan in the chase.

Aryan Dutt comes back strongly in his second over as he takes the crucial wicket of Saim Ayub while giving away just 5 runs. The spinner will have a crucial role to play in this match as Dutch will look to control the scoring rate

First wicket down for Pakistan as Saim Ayub departs on a score of 24. Aryan Dutt finally gets the breakthrough for the Dutch.

Saim Ayub hits Logan Van Beek for three back to back boundaries, making sure that Pakistan have an early edge in the game. The required run rate was 7.4 at the start of the innings and it has now dropped to 6.8

Pacer Logan Van beek has come on the crease from the other end. The Saim Ayub once again looks to put on the pressure early in the over and hits Beek for two back to back boundaries.

9 runs from the first over for Pakistan as they show straight away that the focus may also be on improving their net run rate. Notably, this is a must win game for Pakistan after deciding to boycott the clash against India

Saim Ayub shows early intent as he came down the crease on the third ball of the over and hits Aryan Dutt down the grown for huge six.

Pakistani openers Saim Ayub and Sahibazada Farhan have taken the field and are taking their stance as they look to chase the modest total of 148. Aryan Dutt has the new ball for the Dutch.

We only have first-class scores to go by at the SCC, where the average first-innings total is 156. In that regard, the Dutch fell short by 11 runs, but they will hope that the bowlers can make up for the shortfall in the second innings

Netherlands' innings has unfolded for a score of 147. The last man on the crease, Paul van Meekeren tried to hit a shorter delivery from Salman Mirza but only manages to edge the ball as it goes to the keeper.

Aryan Dutt, the danger man departs as the right handed batter goes hard after the ball but only ends up hitting the ball right in the hands of Sahibzada Farhan.

Afridi gave away a lot of runs in the first half of the match but the bowler comes back strongly in his second spell as he keeps the scoring rate down while taking the crucial wicket of Merwe.

Netherlands have lost the wicket of Roelof Van der Merwe as the Dutch have a late collapse in Colombo.

Netherlands are 139/7 after 18 overs. The Dutch currently would be looking to have a score over 160 on the board but the spin attack from Pakistan continues to possess a big challenge for them.

Another wicket down for Netherlands as the hard hitting strategy backfires. Ayub gets his second wicket of the over as he dismissed Cachet for 9.

Pakistan vs Netherlands Live: Saim Ayub takes the wicket of Van Beek as the new batter plays the ball straight to the hands of the fielder inside the 30 yard circle.

Logan van beek is the new man on the crease, joining Lion Cahcet. The Dutch have suffered the big blow at the wrong time in match. The spin attack from Pakistan has worked so far in the game as Abrar Ahmed took his second wicket.

Scott Edwards departs while playing the sweep shot. The Netherlands skipper ends the innings on a score of 37.

After 14th over, Netherlands are 112/4 with skipper Scott Edwards and Zach Lion-Cachet on the crease. If the Dutch score at a rate of 6 runs an over, they get to 146. At 8 rpo, they get to 160 and at 10 rpo, they get to 172.

Netherlands would be hoping to get to a score of over 160 runs in order to put on a real challenge to the Pakistani batters.

Netherlands had the momentum back in their favour as the pair of Edwards and de Leede had taken the partnership to over 40 runs and were striking fast and loose against Nawaz. However, the Pakistan all-rounder had the last laugh as de Leede plays an aggressive shot down the ground but only ends up hitting the ball straight to the hands of Babar Azam.

Mohammad Nawaz strikes as he gets the key wicket of Bas de Leede on a score of 30

Netherlands are going strong in the game. The Dutch batters are trying to tackle the spin challenge from both ends as they plot a score of 150 in the 20 overs.

It's half way stage where Pakistan have taken three wickets and slowed down the run scoring but the Dutch have shown time and again that they are here to strike hard and win the contest. Netherlands need to strike anothe parntership after the wicket of Collin Ackermann.

This is the first time that Abrar Ahmed is appearing in an ICC event and the spinner has shown his class straight away. The wrist spinner stuns Collin Ackerman with a perfect length delivery, putting the batter in two minds whether to go front or back.

Abrar Ahmed stuns Ackerman as he clean bowls the right handed batter on a score of 20.

This is the highest score for Netherlands in the powerplay in the Men's T20 World Cup. The Dutch have looked aggressive in the match and are showing that they want to put on a big total in Colombo.

A solid over for Netherlands as the Dutch batters take the attack on Salman Mirza, getting 14 runs from the over and putting the pressure back on the Pakistani bowlers. Pakistan had put the presure back on the Netherlands with two wickets but these batsmen have shown that they are no slouches either.

The Dutch are now looking to rebuild after losing 2 wickets. Netherlands have Bad de Leede and Colin Ackerman on the crease. De Leede showed signs of aggressions in the last over when he stepped down the crease to hit Mohammad Nawaz down the ground for a straight boundary.

Pakistan vs Netherlands Live: Spin in the attack and Pakistan take the second wicket of Michael Levitt. The right handed batter was causing quite a stir but goes down while trying to hit Nawaz down the ground. Spin does the trick for Pakistan.

While Shaheen Shah Afridi has been leaking runs from the other end, Salman Mirza has turned out to be very effective on this track. The pacer gave away just 5 runs in this first over and is yet to concede a runs in the first 3 balls of his second over while already picking the crucial wicket of O'Dowd

Max O'Dowd has been dismissed on a score of 5 after trying to hit Salman Mirza for a boundary on the leg side. The premium player for Netherlands goes out without making much damage to the scoring board.

9 runs from his first over and Afridi goes for a boundary on the first ball of his second over as well. The grass on the pitch hasn't really benefited the bowlers as of yet. There has been some momentum for sure sure but the Dutch batters are playing their shots comfortably.

A 137 km delivery from Afridi but too straight for Levitt who dispatches it swiftly for a boundary on the leg side. The Dutch are underway and would want to continue this momentum.

Netherlands openers Max O'Dowd and Michael Levitt have taken the field and they will be facing the first over from star Pakistan pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi. There is a little bit of grass on the pitch and it will be interesting to see if Afridi can exploit some movement from the pitch.

Interesting fact, Afridi has taken a wicket 25 times in the first over of the match.

The national anthems for both teams have echoed around the SCC and it is now time for the live action to begin. Pakistan's Shaheen Afridi is likely to start the proceedings while openers Max O'Dowd and Michael Levitt should take the field for the Dutch.

With there being around a 70% rain forecast for later in the day, Salman Agha's side would have wanted to have the DLS adavantage in their favour in case the match is shortened. It is worth noting here that this is a must win game for Pakistan who need to win all 3 of their matches after deciding to walk off in the contest against India.

Speaking to the broadcasters, Yonus said, “Because there are few games that will be played on this (track), you want to keep it fresh. I think this fresh grass with Pakistan's 3 seamless should just get some sort of assistance from it. And it is all about, you know, hitting the right length. I feel with the Pakistani pacers, with Naseem, Shaheen, and Fahim, I think they will pitch in good areas and they'll look to pick up early wickets.”

Netherlands playing XI Scott Edwards, Noah Croes, Max O'Dowd, Logan van Beek, Michael Levitt, Roelof van der Merwe, Colin Ackermann, Aryan Dutt, Zach Lion-Cachet, Kyle Klein, Bas de Leede

Pakistan vs Netherlands Live: Salman Ali Agha (C), Mohammad Nawaz, Sahibzada Farhan, Faheem Ashraf, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Afridi, Babar Azam, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Khan, Salman Mirza, Shadab Khan

Pakistan vs Netherlands Live: Pakistan have won the toss and decided to bowl first. There is a bit of grass in the pitch but captain Salman Ali Agha says that his side is ready for any challenge.

Pakistan government have already confirmed that they will not fielding the team against India. This means that Pakistan will lose 2 crucial points in the league stage so they cannot afford to make any mistakes against Netherlands today.

An upset against Netherlands could potentially mean end of the road for Pakistan in the tournament.