itstargetnews
Paul van Mikalen thinks the Netherlands lost the game themselves: In the opening match of the 2026 T20 World Cup, Pakistan faced the Netherlands. It was a thrilling final game, with the Men in Green narrowly beating the Netherlands by three goals in the final game. Pakistan restricted Netherlands to 147 runs. While catching up, they are also in a good stage.
From the 11th over onwards, the game swung in Holland’s favour, with Pakistan losing 5 wickets in a span of 16 overs, from 98/2 to 114/7. However, Faheem Ashraf’s heroics in the 19th over helped Salman Ali Agha’s side win the opening match. Needing 29 off 12 deliveries, Faheem Ashraf charged to Logan van Beek.
Faheem Ashraf helps Netherlands win
The Pakistan all-rounder changed the course of the match by smashing Van Beek for 24 runs in an over, winning two points for his team with three wickets remaining. The victory came against the backdrop of a crushing defeat between India and Pakistan. If Pakistan perform poorly against the Netherlands, their chances of qualifying for the Super Eights will take a major hit.
After the game, Dutch pacer Paul van Miklen shed light on their performance. He felt they missed a chance to win the game because they deserved to win. “We deserved to win that game and should have sent Pakistan home after today, so yes, it’s a shame but that’s what it is,” Van Miklen said.
“Obviously some people are actually disappointed” – Paul van Miklen
Paul van Mikalen said: “I mean, we’re a very close team so obviously there were some people in the dressing room who were actually disappointed but we stood behind them and we supported them all the way to turn it around in the next game and they didn’t even have to turn it around just to do their best to win the next game for us against Namibia.”
“I’m very proud of these guys. I mean, I think we probably didn’t get the runs we wanted, but to fight back after Pakistan started strong with the bat, it shows the culture we’ve created in the team and the never-give-up attitude.”
Netherlands give this match to Pakistan
Paul van Meekeren concluded: “I want to make it clear that Pakistan did not win the game today; we lost the game against ourselves. We were the better team today, especially in terms of bowling, and we should have won that game.” Paul van Meekeren ended with 20 for 2 in his four overs.
The Netherlands will take on Namibia and Pakistan will take on the United States, who had a thrilling match against defending champions India on Saturday night.
It is indeed difficult for the men in green to defeat the team they lost in the previous super round in the group stage super round. The latter game will be a fun one to watch.
