Despite losing the wickets of their openers, Netherlands are not going on the backfoot and comfortably getting boundaries. The duo of Bas de Leede and Colin Ackermann joined hands at the crease and this time, Salman Mirza faced the wrath. In the previous over of the pacer, the duo scored 14 runs, which include two boundaries from Ackermann and one boundary from de Leede. With this, Netherlands have crossed the 50-run mark in the powerplay. 

NED 50/2 (6 overs)

OUT!!! What a fielding from Babar Azam!! Michael Levitt hammers it hard on Mohammad Nawaz in search of a six. Babar runs towards it and grabs the ball before stepping across the boundary rope. He timely releases the ball before Shaheen Afridi reaches the spot and completes the catch. The third umpire also confirm that it's an out. Second wicket gone for Netherlands. 

NED 31/2 (4.2 overs)

OUT!!! Salman Mirza draws the first blood and provides Pakistan with the wicket of Max ODowd for 5. Max looks to play pull shot but the ball hits the top edge and goes up in the air. The wicketkeeper Usman Khan runs fast and grabs a stunning catch to dismiss Max. 

NED 28/1 (3.1 overs)

SIX!!! Michael levitt thrashes Shaheen Afridi and gets a huge maximum in his over. Levitt stands tall to dispatch it over deep backward square leg with a thumping pull shot. Shaheen looking a bit clueless now. 

NED 26/0 (2.3 overs)

Michael Levitt does it again and gets a boundary on the very first delivery of Shaheen Afridi's second over. With this, he has now joined the elite list, featuring the great Chris Gayle. 

First ball hit for 4s of every T20 World Cup

2007 - Chris Gayle (WI) vs Shaun Pollock (SA), 4 runs

2009 - Ravi Bopara (ENG) vs Dirk Nannes (NED), 4 runs

2012 - Dilshan Munaweera (SL) vs Kyle Jarvis (ZIM), 4 runs

2024 - Aaron Johnson (CAN) vs Ali Khan (USA), 4 runs

2026 - Michael Levitt (NED) vs Shaheen Afridi (PAK), 4 runs

FOUR!!! After stealing a boundary from Shaheen Afridi, Michael Levitt gets another one from Salman Mirza. On the first delivery of the second over, Levitt makes a good use of the pace and the width. He patiently waits and hits it hard towards the cover for a four. 

NED 13/0 (1.1 overs)

Netherlands are off to a terrific start against Pakistan. Openers Michael Levitt and Max ODowd score nine runs in the first over for star pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi. This include one boundary from both the batters. 

NED 9/0 (1 overs)

The T20 World Cup 2026 finally begins. Pakistan are all set to take on Netherlands in their Group A match. For Netherlands, Michael Levitt and Max ODowd have opened the proceedings. On the other hand, Shaheen Afridi will be bowling the first over for Pakistan. 

Players of both the teams are out on the field for their respective national anthems. The T20 World Cup 2026 opening match between Pakistan and Netherlands shall begin shortly. Stay tuned with us for all the live updates. 

Netherlands (Playing XI): Michael Levitt, Max ODowd, Bas de Leede, Colin Ackermann, Scott Edwards(w/c), Zach Lion Cachet, Logan van Beek, Roelof van der Merwe, Aryan Dutt, Kyle Klein, Paul van Meekeren.

Pakistan (Playing XI): Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Agha(c), Babar Azam, Usman Khan(w), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Salman Mirza, Abrar Ahmed.

"We would have bowled first as well, but happy to bat first. You have four matches and you got to win three. We've been in India and Sri Lanka for the last month and a half now. Plenty of all-rounders, plenty of options for bowling and batting," said Netherlands skipper Scott Edwards.

"We would look to field first. If there's any moisture, we want to use that. We are playing three seamers. They are a very good side. We want to execute our plans," said Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha. 

Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha wins the toss, opts to bowl against Netherlands in the T20 World Cup 2026, Group A opening match in Colombo. 

Asked if Pakistan would be under huge pressure due to the impending pull-out, Max O'Dowd replied: "Look, to be honest, I don't have much to say about Pakistan boycotting against India, that's completely out of our control. We just kind of focus on what we're doing, what we need to do tomorrow, which is to try and beat Pakistan.

The "perceived" pressure on Pakistan after deciding to boycott the game against India is of no concern to the Netherlands opener Max O'Dowd, who says his team is firmly focused on winning its T20 World Cup opener against Salman Ali Agha's men.

Time        Chances of rainfall

11:00 AM        5%

12:00 PM        8%

1:00 PM        60%

2:00 PM        68%

3:00 PM        60%

4:00 PM        30%

Another growing concern for Pakistan ahead of the match is the weather in Colombo. According to forecasts, the city is expected to witness heavy rainfall during the day. Although the sun is currently shining, weather reports suggest that rain clouds are likely to roll in as the day progresses, potentially disrupting play.

Asked how he would deal with the situation, Salman told reporters: "By just avoiding that. It's something we, as a group, we don't really talk about and we don't really see what's happening outside in the group. And I think that's the best we can do. We can avoid all this and just focus on our game."

Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha on Friday said the team will try to shut out the off-field noise surrounding its planned boycott of the India match and instead focus on winning remaining group games to qualify for the T20 World Cup Super Eight stage.

Led by head coach Mike Hesson, Pakistan sit sixth in the T20 team rankings. They will be captained by Salman Ali Agha, who is deftly handling increased attention on Babar Azam, who has returned to the squad having been dropped for the Asia Cup, where Pakistan finished as runners-up to India.

Pakistan will be looking to put their previous T20 World Cup campaign behind them. The 2009 champions failed to get out of the group stages for the first time after defeats to rivals India and newcomers the USA. They will hope it is just a blip, having reached the final and the semi-finals in their two appearances before 2024.

With Pakistan boycotting their league game against India as a show of solidarity for the ousted Bangladesh, they would have to win all their remaining three games starting with the one against Netherlands in order to qualify for the Super Eights.

Pakistan, who won the title in 2009, are coming into the tournament in the wake of their decision to boycott the February 15 group game against arch-rivals India in solidarity with Bangladesh, who were replaced by Scotland after refusing to travel to India citing security concerns.

Since its inception in 2007, T20 World Cup has produced thrilling games and treated the cricket fans with loads of entertainment. Now, the tournament has reached its tenth edition and the excitement among the fans knows no bounds. 

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the T20 World Cup 2026. The opening Group A match is between Pakistan and Netherlands at the Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo. Stay tuned for all the live updates.