Colombo, Feb 7 (SocialNews.XYZ) Pakistan opened their T20 World Cup 2026 campaign with a tense three-wicket win over the Netherlands at the Sinhalese Sports Club, but the Dutch captain Scott Edwards felt his side were left to rue a slightly below-par total despite pushing the favourites deep into the contest and admitted that cricket was a ‘cruel’ sport.
Reflecting on the defeat, Edwards admitted the Netherlands were short of the score they had targeted after being bowled out for 147 in 19.5 overs. “We probably felt 160 probably was going to give us a fair chance. So we were a little bit under and we had to bowl well to get ourselves in there,” he said after the game.
Asked to bat first in the tournament opener, the Netherlands made a brisk start but lost wickets at regular intervals as Pakistan’s spinners tightened their grip through the middle overs. Despite Edwards top-scoring with 37, the innings never quite gained the momentum needed to push past a defendable total.
Still, Edwards believed his bowlers created a genuine opportunity to turn the game around during Pakistan’s chase. “And obviously a couple of spells from Roelof (van der Merwe) and Pauly (van Meekeran) got us right in the game,” he said, pointing to a decisive phase where pressure mounted sharply on Pakistan’s batters.
The Netherlands clawed their way back after Pakistan slipped from a strong position to a middle-order collapse, with Paul van Meekeren delivering a double-wicket maiden that swung momentum. Edwards felt the surface played fair for both sides and rewarded disciplined bowling.
“I think it's a pretty good wicket. Pakistan got it down to a run a ball at one stage there and Pauly bowled an over, I think he bowled a maiden or something (double-wicket maiden). And then one that went for not many to really get that run rate up. And, and the boys sort of jumped on that momentum,” he said.
However, late hitting from Faheem Ashraf and a costly dropped catch in the 19th over undid the Netherlands’ hard work, allowing Pakistan to sneak home with nine balls to spare. For Edwards, the narrow loss was a reminder of the unforgiving nature of the format. “You know, sometimes cricket can be a cruel game.”
Source: IANS
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