Netherlands "Better Team": Dutch Star On Not Sending Pakistan Home From T20 World Cup

The opening match of the T20 World Cup 2026 nearly produced an upset as Netherlands came close to 'knocking Pakistan out' of the tournament. If it wasn't for the dropped catch in the penultimate over of the match, Pakistan's journey in the T20 World Cup would have come to a premature end, considering they have already announced the decision to boycott the India match. In fact, Netherlands pacer Paul van Meekeren said that his team was 'better' on the day against Pakistan and only have themselves to blame for the defeat.

"I'm very proud of the guys, I mean, I think we probably didn't get the runs on the board that we wanted, but to fight back after a strong start from Pakistan with the bat, it shows how the culture that we've created in the team and the never-give-up attitude. So yeah, I'm super proud - obviously catches win matches," the pacer told reporters in the post-match press conference.

Van Meekeren even said that Pakistan didn't win the game, it was Netherlands who lost.

"I want to be very clear, Pakistan didn't win the game today; we lost the game against ourselves. We were the better team today, especially in the bowling department, and we should have deserved to win that game," he added.

When asked about the game-changing moment in the T20 World Cup opening clash, Van Meekeren said, "It's probably quite clear the dropped catch in the end. They needed 29 in that last over, probably the last real recognised batter that's in, first ball goes for six and you drop the catch, and then after that it's six-six-four, something like that."

"I mean, everyone who's got a bit of brains in cricket probably knows that that catch is probably where we lost the game. Yeah, that's what - someone needs to lose, and we lost against ourselves. We deserved to win that game, and we should have sent Pakistan home after today, so yeah, it's a shame, but it is what it is," he added.

Topics mentioned in this article

Pakistan Cricket Team Netherlands Paul van Meekeren T20 World Cup 2026 Cricket