Nervy Pakistan survive Dutch scare in T20 World Cup opener

The Netherlands nearly pulled off a major upset before Faheem Ashraf’s breezy cameo secured a nervy three-wicket win for Pakistan in their Group A match at the T20 World Cup on Saturday. Put in to bat, the Dutch were bowled out for 147 with one delivery left in their innings at Colombo’s Sinhalese Sports Club ground. They then produced a lionhearted effort with the ball, but dropping Faheem proved costly as he went on to smash 29 not out off 11 balls to secure Pakistan’s victory with three balls to spare.

A thrilling start to the#T20WorldCup🔥Pakistan hold their nerve in a final-over finish against the Netherlands 👌Watch highlights from every match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup onhttps://t.co/CPDKNxpgZ3🎥⬇️https://t.co/dt8FYxjrxd “They managed to pull wickets down, and the pressure came in,” a visibly relieved Pakistan captain Salman Agha said. Pakistan have little margin for error in their bid to qualify for the Super 8 stage after deciding to boycott their group match against archrivals India. Having bowled out the Netherlands with a ball to spare, they made heavy weather of their small target with the bat, and the outcome could have been different had Max O’Dowd held the catch offered by Faheem.

Earlier, the Dutch side had reached 100 in the 13th over but lost the plot at the death, giving up six wickets in 24 balls for just 20 runs. They had lost openers Max O’Dowd and Michael Levitt in successive overs, but their middle order refused to throw in the towel. Bas de Leede (30), Colin Ackermann (20) and captain Scott Edwards (37) all made useful contributions. But Pakistan spinner Saim Ayub claimed two wickets in the 17th over, and Salman Mirza (3-24) struck twice in the 20th to restrict the Netherlands to a below-par total.