The Sports Buff ⚽️ ⚾️ 🏈

Pakistan, the 2009 World Champions, were given an almighty scare in their opening game against the Netherlands in the 2026 World Cup in Sri Lanka, after they won by three wickets.

Going into this game, the build-up has been dominated by matters off the pitch. Bangladesh have boycotted the World Cup or been eliminated from the World Cup, depending on which side of the argument you are. Pakistan, for their part, have said they won’t play in their next game against India on 15th February.

Winning the toss, Pakistan decided to bowl first. Although Bas de Leede (30) and captain Scott Edwards (37) made decent contributions, the fact that nobody made a fifty would prove crucial.

In reply, Pakistan got off to a solid start in their reply. Saim Ayub(24), was the first wicket to fall. The men in green were soon 53-2, but when Babar Azam (15), combined with Sahibzada Farhan to put on 45 for the third, it seemed that Pakistan’s run chase was still in their control.

We as spectators couldn’t have been more wrong as 98-2, very quickly turned to 114-7. The Netherlands were sensing blood, and if Faheem Ashraf wasn’t dropped into what would be a match-winning onslaught (29 off 11 balls), then the Netherlands would have secured a priceless win.

Sadly for them and the rest of the tournament, this isn’t how things would pan out as the 2009 World Champions would only just scrape through this match for the win, which was far from convincing.

If they can be persuaded to play, that is, Pakistan’s next game will be against India on 15th February. As for Holland, they will face Namibia.

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