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Babar Azam pulled off a boundary catch, assisted by Shaheen Afridi, to dismiss Dutch opener Michael Levitt during the T20 World Cup 2026 opener in Colombo today.
It happened in the first over of Mohammad Nawaz when Levitt struck powerfully, but Azam leapt near the rope, stopped the ball, and threw it back to Afridi for the dismissal.
Levitt had earlier scored a brisk 24 off 15 balls, hitting three fours and one six, as the Netherlands made an aggressive start against Pakistan in Colombo.
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— Arsalan🥷 (@32nd_letsgo) February 7, 2026
Opening batter Max O’Dowd earlier lost his wicket to Salman Mirza, scoring just five runs off seven balls, while Colin Ackermann contributed 20 runs off 14 balls.
Bas de Leede scored 30 runs off 24 balls before being dismissed by Nawaz, while Scott Edwards played a fine innings of 38 runs off 29 balls.
Pakistan’s bowlers played a crucial role, with Mohammad Nawaz, Saim Ayub and Abrar Ahmed taking two wickets, while Shaheen Afridi and Salman Mirza claimed one each.
The Netherlands were bowled out for 147 in 19.5 overs despite reaching 105 for four in 12.4 overs, as Pakistan’s disciplined spinners applied pressure and restricted scoring effectively.
