Paul van Meekeren drops bomb on Pakistan after T20 World Cup thriller: “They didn’t win the game”

Paul van Meekeren believes the Netherlands lost the game themselves: Pakistan faced the Netherlands in the opening game of the 2026 T20 World Cup. It was a last-over thriller as the Men in Green edged through the Dutch in the final over with three balls to spare. Pakistan restricted the Netherlands to just 147. While chasing, they were at a good stage.

From the 11th over, the match turned in the Dutch’s favour as from 98/2 to 114/7, Pakistan lost 5 wickets in the span of 16 runs. However, heroics from Faheem Ashraf in the 19th over helped Salman Ali Agha’s side to win their opening game. 29 needed off 12 deliveries, Faheem Ashraf charged to Logan van Beek.

Faheem Ashraf stands between the Netherlands win

The Pakistani all-rounder smashed van Beek for 24 runs in the over, changed the course of the match, securing the two points for the side with three wickets to spare. This win came in the light of a fiasco going on between India and Pakistan. If Pakistan faltered against the Netherlands, their chances of reaching the Super 8 stage would have taken a major blow.

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After the match, Dutch pacer Paul van Meekeren shed light on their performance. He believes that they were left missing the opportunity to win the match as they deserved to win. Van Meekeren said, "We deserved to win that game and should have potentially sent Pakistan home after today, so yeah it's a shame, but it is what it is."

'Obviously there are a few guys who are actually disappointed'- Paul van Meekeren

Paul van Meekeren said, "I mean, we're a very close team, so obviously there are a few guys who are actually disappointed in the changing room, but we stand behind them, we back them all the way for the next game to turn it around, they don't even need to turn it around, just to be the best they can be and win the next game for us against Namibia."

"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 the culture that we've created in the team and the never-give-up attitude."

The Netherlands gifted away the match to Pakistan

Paul van Meekeren concluded, saying, "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." Paul van Meekeren finished off with 2 for 20 in his four-over spell.

The Netherlands will be facing Namibia, and Pakistan will be facing the USA, who had a brilliant game against the defending champions, India, on Saturday evening.

It will really be difficult for the Men in Green to secure a win against the side against whom they lost in the previous edition in the super over during the group stage format. The latter match will be an interesting fixture to watch.

Also Read: ‘Ya Allah, drop ho jaye’: Faheem Ashraf credits divine intervention for Pakistan’s jailbreak vs Netherlands