LIVE: Stunning Pakistan catch lights up T20 World Cup opener
We have lift off at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026. Pakistan meet the Netherlands in Colombo.
The wait is finally over.
Pakistan meet the Netherlands in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 opener in Colombo.
Follow our live coverage as the action unfolds from Sri Lanka's capital.
Teams
Pakistan (Playing XI) - Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Agha (C), Babar Azam, Usman Khan (WK), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Salman Mirza, Abrar Ahmed.
Netherlands (Playing XI) - Max O'Dowd, Michael Levitt, Bas de Leede, Scott Edwards (C/WK), Colin Ackermann, Zach Lion-Cachet, Logan van Beek, Roelof van der Merwe, Aryan Dutt, Kyle Klein, Paul van Meekeren.
Pakistan won the toss and elected to field first.
An in-form Pakistan bowling unit will look to put pressure on the Netherlands' top order as action gets underway in Colombo.
Netherlands start innings on front foot
The first ball of the World Cup was dispatched to the rope for four. It set the tone for the Dutch, who powered to 28 runs for no loss in the opening three overs.
Pakistan fought back in the latter stages of the Powerplay, removing both openers to help have proceedings at 50/2 at the six-over mark.
The removal of Michael Levitt (24 off 15 balls) was a world class catch on the boundary, where outfield specialist Babar Azam combined superbly with Shaheen Afridi to keep the ball inside the rope and securely off the turf.
Babar and Shaheen combine for amazing boundary relay catch | T20WC 2026
Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi combined superbly to hang on to this catch in their T20 World Cup opener against the Netherlands
