Alongside India, Pakistan will also kick off their ICC T20 World Cup 2026 preparation with their first group-stage match to be played against the Netherlands in Colombo. The PAK vs NED match will be the first game to be played on the 7th of February.
The article that follows includes a detailed preview of the PAK vs NED T20 World Cup match, which includes the head-to-head record, their probable playing XI, a pitch report and live streaming details of the second match in the series.
PAK vs NED T20 World Cup Match Preview:
Match Date: The Pakistan vs Netherlands match will be played on Saturday, February 7th.
Venue: The match will take place at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo.
Time: The match is scheduled to start at 11:00 AM IST.
PAK vs NED Squads
Pakistan Squad: Salman Agha (c), Mohammad Nawaz, Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Nafay, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan, and Usman Tariq.
Netherlands Squad: Scott Edwards (c), Colin Ackermann, Noah Croes, Fred Klaassen, Kyle Klein, Michael Levitt, Zach Lion-Cachet, Max O’Dowd, Logan van Beek, Bas de Leede, Aryan Dutt, Timm van der Gugten, Roelof van der Merwe, Paul van Meekeren, and Saqib Zulfiqar.
PAK vs NED Probable XIs:
Pakistan Playing XI: Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Agha (C), Babar Azam, Usman Khan (wk), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Faheem Ashraf/Usman Tariq, and Abrar Ahmed.
Netherlands Playing XI: Max O’Dowd, Vikramjit Singh, Colin Ackermann, Scott Edwards (C/wk), Bas de Leede, Saqib Zulfiqar, Kyle Klein, Logan van Beek, Aryan Dutt, Paul van Meekeren and Roelof van der Merwe/Noah Croes.
PAK vs NED T20 World Cup Match Key Battles
Salman Agha vs Roelof van der Merwe
The Pakistan skipper, Salman Agha, has been in supreme touch for the side, leading their batting with some command. Salman Agha, the epitome of good batting in the middle-order, might feel threatened by the experience of a left-arm orthodox spinner, Roelof van der Merwe.
Saim Ayub vs Paul van Meekeren
Saim Ayub, the left-handed Pakistan batter, has delivered with both the bat and ball. Ayub might be looking forward to making a promising start for Pakistan, and Paul van Meekeren, the pacer, will be taking up the new ball in the quest to dismiss the Pakistan opener.
Max O’Dowd vs Shaheen Afridi
Netherlands opener Max O’Dowd has played several fine touches whenever the Netherlands have crushed their opposition. Pakistan, who will be in the quest for an early advanatge would want to dismiss him early, and Shaheen Afridi would be their go-to man with the ball.
Scott Edwards vs Abrar Ahmed
Scott Edwards, the Dutch skipper, has been the epitome of scoring runs, especially in the shortest format of the game. When he comes out to bat in the middle order, leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed will have a major role to play.
PAK vs NED T20 World Cup Match Key Players:
Pakistan Key Players: Salman Agha, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, and Shaheen Afridi
Netherlands Key Players: Scott Edwards, Max O’Dowd, Bas de Leede, Logan van Beek and Paul van Meekeren
PAK vs NED T20 World Cup Match – Free Live Streaming and Telecast Details
TV Broadcast in India: The matches between teams, including the Pakistan vs Netherlands clash, will be broadcast live across India on the Star Sports Network.
Online Live Streaming in India: Fans from around the world can watch the match live on the JioHotstar app. An active subscription will be required.
PAK vs NED T20 World Cup Match Weather and Pitch Report – Colombo
PAK vs NED: Weather Report in Colombo
According to Accuweather, the temperature is going to be soaring a little high in the country, which is surrounded by the Sea all around. The temperature will be near to 33 degrees during the daytime and will now fall to lower than 29 as the match proceeds.
There is an immense possibility for rainfall while the precipitation hours are not more than 1.5, which implies that the rainfall might not affect the game by any means if it happens much before the game.
PAK vs NED: Pitch Report at Sinhalese Sports Club
The pitch is known as one of the most favourable batting tracks in Sri Lanka. It is a paradise for batters, with batting-friendly tracks and a bullet-fast outfield.
The Colombo pitch offers nothing for the spinners; however, pacers do get an early advantage on this track, but as the bounce is way off, it turns flat before the spinners can come into play. Though it has been reduced in recent times, the first innings totals have ranged to as high as 160-170 runs.
PAK vs NED Head-to-Head Records
Pakistan and the Netherlands have played each other not more than twice in the shortest format of the game. Especially, they have not faced each other in recent times, and their last match was back in the 2022 World Cup.
Pakistan have won both the matches played between these two sides, while the game was played at Lord’s back in 2009 and in Perth in 2022. However, they are yet to play their first game on Indian soil. Back in the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup, Pakistan won the match by 6 wickets.
|
Stats |
Matches |
PAK Won |
NED Won |
Draw |
Tied |
NR |
|
Overall |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
In T20 World Cup |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Last 5 T20Is |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
PAK vs NED T20 World Cup Match – Conclusion
The Pakistan team will be looking forward to bouncing back in the ICC T20 World Cup, as they were knocked out of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 group-stage games. They will be looking forward to taking an early advantage in the T20 World Cup.
