CRICKET – Pakistan, India and West Indies kicked off their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 campaigns with opening-game victories.
Pakistan edged past a spirited Netherlands, West Indies crushed Scotland, and defending champions India brushed aside the USA.
The Netherlands almost pulled off yet another shock win at T20 World Cup as they gave Pakistan a tough fight.
Batting first Netherlands were all-out on 147. At 114/7, it felt like Pakistan would lose the game.
However Faheem Ashraf’s unbeaten cameo of 29 in 11 deliveries crushed Netherlands’ hopes of a win. Pakistan reached the target in 19.3 overs to seal 2 points.
The scene then shifted to Eden Gardens where West Indies faced-off against Scotland in a Group C match.
Shimron Hetmyer’s thrilling innings of 64 in 36 balls followed by Romario Shepherd’s spell of 5/20 including a hat-trick set-up a comfortable 35 run win for two-time champions West Indies.
Defending champions India began their campaign at the Wankhade with a match against the USA. The Men in Blue batted first but were off to a slow start as they were left struggling at 77/6.
However Suryakumar Yadav produced a captain’s innings as he entertained the crowd with an unbeaten innings of 84 in 49 balls.
His innings lifted India to a competitive score of 161/9. There was no way back for USA after Suryakumar’s blitzkrieg as they were halted at 132/8 as India won by 29 runs.
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