What is the news?
The T20 World Cup 2026 will start on Sunday (7 February) with the match between Pakistan cricket team and Netherlands cricket team. This will be the first match of Group-A. Under the captaincy of Agha Salman, the Pakistani team would like to start the campaign with a win. Similarly, the Irish team under the leadership of Scott Edwards would also like to make a positive start in the tournament by causing an upset. In such a situation, let us take a look at the preview and other important things of this match.
head-to-head
Pakistan has the upper hand against Netherlands
Pakistan has been dominant against Netherlands in the T20 format. A total of 2 matches have been played between the two in this format so far and Pakistan team has won both of them. These matches between the two teams have been played at neutral venues in ICC tournaments. No bilateral series has been played between the two teams. In such a situation, this match is being considered as a practice match for Pakistan.
Pakistan’s playing eleven could be like this
Pakistan will hope for a great start from its opening pair of Sahibzada Farhan and Sam Ayub. Similarly, captain Agha Salman and Babar Azam would like to make a better start to the tournament by playing big innings in the middle order. The reins of bowling will be on the shoulders of Shaheen Shah Afridi and Abrar Aham.
Pakistan’s probable eleven: Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Agha Salman (captain), Babar Azam, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan (wicketkeeper), Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Tariq.
Netherlands team can field with this combination
For Netherlands, openers Max O’Dowd and Vikramjeet Singh would like to play big innings. Michael Levitt and captain Edwards will be responsible for the middle order. Paul van Meekeren will lead the fast bowling and Roelof van der Merwe will handle the spin bowling.
Ireland’s probable XI: Max O’Dowd, Vikramjit Singh, Michael Levitt, Scott Edwards (captain & wk), Bas de Leede, Saqib Zulfikar, Kyle Clyne, Logan van Beek, Aryan Dutt, Paul van Meekeren and Roelof van der Merwe.
Eyes will be on the performance of these players
Sam Ayub has scored 267 runs in the last 10 matches at a strike rate of 136.22. Captain Salman has scored 260 runs in 10 matches. Levitt from Netherlands has scored 278 runs in the last 7 matches. O’Dowd has been successful in scoring 275 runs in 9 matches. Abrar has taken 15 wickets in 9 matches. Similarly, Merve has taken 9 wickets in 6 matches. The performance of all these players will be monitored.
When and where to watch the match?
This match between India and New Zealand will be played at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo from 11 am. The live telecast of this match can be seen on Star Sports Network and JioHotstar app in India.
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