Colombo, February 7: The T20 World Cup 2026 has officially begun with a match between Pakistan and the Netherlands. On Saturday, Netherlands opener Michael Levitt struck a boundary on the very first ball of this edition. This marks the fifth T20 World Cup to start with a boundary.
The inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007 commenced with a four by Chris Gayle, followed by Ravi Bopara’s boundary for England against the Netherlands in the 2009 edition. In 2012, Sri Lanka’s Tillakaratne Dilshan also hit a four on the first ball of the T20 World Cup. Canada’s Aaron Johnson similarly began the 2024 edition with a boundary.
In this match held at the Sinhalese Sports Club, Pakistan won the toss and invited the Netherlands to bat first. Michael Levitt, alongside Max O’Dowd, provided a strong start for the team.
The duo managed a partnership of 28 runs in just 3.1 overs. Max O’Dowd scored 5 runs from 7 balls, including one four, before getting out, while Michael Levitt made 24 runs off 15 balls, hitting one six and three fours.
The team lost both openers by the time they reached a score of 31. At this point, Bas de Leede partnered with Colin Ackermann to stabilize the innings, adding 34 runs for the third wicket in 22 balls. By the end of the eighth over, the team had scored 65 runs with three wickets down.
The Pakistani team, led by captain Salman Agha, featured Saeem Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Babar Azam, Usman Khan (wicketkeeper), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Salman Mirza, and Abrar Ahmed.
On the other hand, Scott Edwards captained the Netherlands, also taking on wicketkeeping duties. The Netherlands playing XI included Michael Levitt, Max O’Dowd, Bas de Leede, Colin Ackermann, Zach Lyon Catchet, Logan van Beek, Rulof van der Merwe, Aryan Dutt, Kyle Klein, and Paul van Meekeren.
On the first day of the T20 World Cup 2026, the West Indies will face Scotland in Kolkata, followed by India taking on the USA in the day’s third match.
