T20 World Cup 2026: Match 1, PAK vs NED Match Prediction – Who will win today’s T20 World Cup match between Pakistan vs Netherlands?

Published - 06 Feb 2026, 11:26 IST | Updated - 06 Feb 2026, 12:16 IST

The stage is all set, the carpets have been laid, and the drama is about to get underway, as Pakistan (PAK) and the Netherlands (NED) cross swords to kickstart the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 on Saturday, February 7, in Match No. 1 at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) Ground in Colombo.

Pakistan will enter the tournament with high confidence, having completed a clean sweep over Australia in the preceding three-match T20I series. The Salman Ali Agha-led side has to be cautious with every step, since a loss in this game might lead to them being ruled out of the tournament already. Notably, the Men in Green have refused to play the Group A tie against India, which will hurt their net run-rate (NRR) and points table finish.

The Netherlands, on the other hand, have been in poor form in the shortest format of the game in the recent past. The Dutch side has failed to grab a win in any of their 20-over games (including the warm-up games), and thus, they will be looking to gain early momentum in the twenty-team tournament with a win against the 2009 champions.

The Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo will be hosting its first-ever T20I fixture after a gap of almost sixteen years. There is no doubt that the pitch must have changed quite a lot in all these years, and thus, both things will have to assess the conditions quite well before fixing their strategies for this contest. Notably, this will also be the first-ever contest at the venue after the recent renovation and upliftment, where floodlights have also been installed.

Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha (captain), Babar Azam, Usman Khan (wicketkeeper), Khawaja Nafay, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Salman Mirza, and Abrar Ahmed

Max O'Dowd, Michael Levitt, Colin Ackermann, Noah Croes, Scott Edwards (captain & wicketkeeper), Bas de Leede, Roelof van der Merwe, Saqib Zulfiqar, Logan van Beek, Aryan Dutt, Fred Klaassen

Babar Azam has had a tendency to perform the best against the best of the bowling attacks in the world. When he goes up against a formidable Dutch attack on Saturday afternoon, the conditions are expected to be challenging, but the ace batter knows how to thrive. With a plethora of experience playing in the subcontinent conditions and being equally good against pace and spin, he is set to be at his best.

Shaheen Afridi is among the most feared names and falls among the best pace bowlers of the current generation. Against a power-packed batting attack of the Scott Edwards unit, Shaheen will be expected to hand the Men in Green a few early breakthroughs to bring the opposition on the back foot right away. With his sheer pace and ability to swing the ball both ways, the Dutch will be playing his four overs cautiously.