Pakistan win T20 World Cup opener, edge Netherlands in last over

Pakistan defeated Netherlands by three wickets in T20 World Cup opener in Colombo on Saturday.

Sent in to bat, Netherlands lost the way in the later part of their innings after a strong start as Pakistan bowled them out for 147 in 19.5 overs.

In reply, opener Sahibzada Farhan made 47 off 31 balls, while Faheem Ashraf played an unbeaten 11-ball 29-run cameo to help Pakistan chase down the target with three balls to spare.

Paul van Meekeren (2/20) and Aryan Dutt (2/33) were the most successful bowlers for Netherlands.

Brief Scores: Netherlands: 147 all out in 19.5 overs (Scott Edwards 37, Bas de Leede 30; Salman Mirza 3/24, Saim Ayub 2/7, Mohammad Nawaz 2/38, Abrar Ahmed 2/23).

Pakistan: 148 for 7 in 19.3 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 47, Faheem Ashraf 29 not out, Paul van Meekeren 2/20, Aryan Dutt 2/33).