ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026: NED vs PAK at Colombo on 07/02/26

ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026: Nederlands vs Pakistan at Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo on 07/02/26 at 11:00 AM IST.

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Welcome to T20 World Cup 2026, a month long cricket bonanza starting from today and the final will be played on 9th of March 2026, hosted by India and Sri Lanka.

Today is a triple header including India vs USA at 7PM IST in Mumbai.

In-form Pakistan take on undercooked Netherlands in T20 World Cup 2026 opener

The stage is all set, the carpets have been laid, and the drama is about to get underway, as Pakistan (PAK) and the Netherlands (NED) cross swords to kickstart the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 on Saturday, February 7, in Match No. 1 at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) Ground in Colombo.

Pakistan will enter the tournament with high confidence, having completed a clean sweep over Australia in the preceding three-match T20I series. The Salman Ali Agha-led side has to be cautious with every step, since a loss in this game might lead to them being ruled out of the tournament already. Notably, the Men in Green have refused to play the Group A tie against India, which will hurt their net run-rate (NRR) and points table finish.

The Netherlands, on the other hand, have been in poor form in the shortest format of the game in the recent past. The Dutch side has failed to grab a win in any of their 20-over games (including the warm-up games), and thus, they will be looking to gain early momentum in the twenty-team tournament with a win against the 2009 champions.

Squads:

Netherlands Squad: Michael Levitt, Max ODowd, Bas de Leede, Zach Lion Cachet, Colin Ackermann, Scott Edwards(w/c), Noah Croes, Roelof van der Merwe, Logan van Beek, Aryan Dutt, Kyle Klein, Paul van Meekeren, Timm van der Gugten, Saqib Zulfiqar, Fred Klaassen

Pakistan Squad: Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Salman Agha(c), Khawaja Nafay(w), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmed, Sahibzada Farhan, Usman Khan, Salman Mirza, Usman Tariq

PAK vs NED: Head-to-Head T20I Record

Matches Played 2

PAK Won 2

NED Won 0

Tied / No Results 0

First-ever fixture June 09, 2009 (PAK Won)

Most recent fixture October 30, 2022 (PAK Won)

In the spotlight: Salman Agha and Michael Levitt

Long criticised for lacking the attacking ability apposite for this format, Pakistan captain Salman Agha has undergone an almost overnight transformation. At the turn of the year, his strike rate of 111.57 was the third lowest of all Pakistanis to have scored 500 T20I runs, but he seems to have turned it all around within three innings. It began with a 12-ball 45 against Sri Lanka in a truncated game, which he followed up with 120 runs in 70 balls in Pakistan's 3-0 clean sweep of Australia. Making the No. 3 position his own, his belligerence from ball one gives Pakistan much-needed attacking heft post-powerplay, and his is a metamorphosis Pakistan need to continue at the World Cup.

Michael Levitt didn't have the impact he would have hoped at his first T20 World Cup in 2024, but by now, he appears to be approaching his best T20 years. At 22, he is already Netherlands' fifth-highest run-scorer in T20Is, with the highest strike rate (142.20) in Dutch T20I history (minimum 500 runs). Two half-centuries in a tri-series in 2024 featuring Canada and USA offered him his launchpad before he caught fire at the tri-series in Scotland last year. His 232 runs in four innings were 90 clear of the second-highest run-scorer that tournament. He hasn't played much senior cricket since, but the opener has shown he has the ability as well as the explosiveness so suited to a tournament of this nature.

Pitch and conditions

The Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo has only ever hosted two T20Is, and that was over 16 years ago. As such, how the pitch might play is little more than a guessing game, though personnel at the ground expect it to be good for batting, and to carry something for seamers early on. Spin will invariably play a role, though apparently not nearly as heavily as it does at the Premadasa.

Whether the weather plays ball is also very much an open question, with heavy rain forecast the eve of the game, and light showers the afternoon of. With the game in the morning, the famous Sri Lankan groundstaff may have their work cut out if we are to sneak in a full contest.

Stats and trivia

Pakistan were a beneficiary of Netherlands' most famous T20I win, when they beat South Africa in Adelaide at the 2022 World Cup, knocking them out of the tournament and securing qualification to the next edition. It was a result Pakistan took advantage of to make a run all the way to the final.

Mohammad Nawaz is four scalps shy of overtaking Shahid Afridi to move up to fourth on the list of all-time T20I wicket-takers for Pakistan, and six short of 100 T20I wickets.

Since Netherlands last took part in a T20I, Pakistan have played 24.

Quotes

"Pakistan is in great form. I think the 3-0 series win over Australia shows that. I'm not going to come out here the day before a game and tell you what we're going to exploit."

Max O'Dowd isn't going to divulge Netherlands' plan

The general observation is Pakistan to win the match.

When it comes to win probability Pakistan has 80% chance and Netherlands has 20%.

https://x.com/ICC/status/2019726310776705041

Thanks for the tag 💙