The T20 World Cup started off with a heart stopper of a finish as Pakistan secured, then threw away, and finally clinched a thrilling last-over win, warding off a heroic Netherlands fightback. Faheem Ashraf was more saviour than hero, riding his luck to smash 24 in the game’s penultimate over having survived a dropped chance, and finishing the game off with three balls to go. The three-wicket win keeps them on course for qualification to the next round, even as it seemed nine balls earlier that they were destined for another early exit.

Pakistan were well on course for victory at the halfway mark of the chase, needing 50 in nine overs, before Paul van Meekeren struck with a double-wicket maiden, and Pakistan collapsed under the weight of the slightest pressure. Babar Azam, who needed only to anchor with the chase under a-run-a-ball, found himself slogging aimlessly and holing out to Roelof van der Merwe, and run-scoring amnesia took hold – just 21 were made in the seven overs between the 12th and the 19th, with five wickets falling.

But Logan van Beek, who had struck earlier to dismiss Shadab Khan, found his first ball disappearing over cow corner for six. He varied the pace and got Faheem to scoop it straight up to long-on. Max O’Dowd got underneath it and got both hands to it, only to find to his horror the ball popping back out and harmlessly to his side. Faheem plundered two more sixes and a boundary before the over was out, and Netherlands realised their chance had gone.

Netherlands began brightly with the bat, and continued to target the Pakistan bowlers without worrying about the fall of wickets. The 79 they put up in the first ten was comfortably their highest ten-over score against Pakistan. Michael Levitt, Bas de Leede,  Colin Ackermann and Scott Edwards all chipped in with handy knocks as partnerships kept them ticking over. However, a poor final four overs cost them dear as they lost six wickets for 20 runs to finish 20 runs short of where they might have been.

Pakistan started as if they would make short work of the small chase. Saim Ayub flew out of the blocks, and once his cameo ended, Sahibzada Farhan followed in his footsteps. Netherlands appeared to have had the fight knocked out of them, and Pakistan’s win looked inevitably straightforward. Van Meekeren, and a heartbroken Netherlands side, made sure it was anything but.

Under unexpectedly bright skies, Netherlands, put in to bat by Salman Agha, who was surprised at the amount of grass on the pitch, put the pressure on Pakistan early. The first ball was dispatched by Michael Levitt for four, who hit the shot of the game with a glorious pulled six off Shaheen Shah Afridi in his following over. Netherlands are top heavy, with most of their destructive batting potential concentrated in the top five, but it didn’t stop them taking risks to keep their run rate as high as they possibly could.

Edwards said post-match that he thought Netherlands weren’t at their best in any of the three departments, but one of their routes to victory would have been Levitt producing a big knock to boost their total. He looked on course to do just that in the powerplay, and appeared to have connected cleanly when he slashed Mohammad Nawaz back over his head high.

It looked to be heading over the rope until Babar, seemingly out of nowhere, burst into frame and let the ball plant into his palms, before scooping it back up into the field of play a moment before he exited it. He had barely broken stride while Afridi, on the same wavelength, came across to complete the catch and make the game’s crucial early breakthrough.

So often a point of weakness for Pakistan, it was a sign of a flawless fielding and catching performance, one that didn’t give Netherlands an inch. And, as witnessed at the end, every inch did matter.

The fears of Netherlands tailing after the fall of the top five were well-founded, after all. Edwards dismissal meant the loss of Netherlands’ last proper attacking batter, leaving them denuded for power at the end. Abrar Ahmed was varying his pace and line superbly and kept building the pressure, while Saim Ayub, mysteriously held back and bowled just once, took two quick wickets in his only over. Salman Mirza and Afridi applied the coup de grace as the last six folded cheaply; Netherlands had gone from 127 for 4 to being dismissed for 147.

It is perhaps just as well for Pakistan that Faheem pulled a rabbit out of the hat, because they might have otherwise spent the rest of their careers explaining how this one slipped out of their fingers. Pakistan were the most prepared team of any at this tournament, having played 34 T20Is since the end of May, all engineered to ensure they were acclimatised to whatever situation a T20I could throw at them.

And this one wasn’t throwing much either. In 11 overs, they had cruised to 98 for 2, 50 away against a mismatched opponent having a poor day with the ball. But when 41-year-old van der Merwe galloped in from the deep to take a stunning catch diving forward, fear of failure seemed to take an iron hold on Pakistan. Two balls later, Usman Khan chopped on, and just when Pakistan might have wanted Babar to play the same sedate way he already was, he had a low-percentage hoick off van der Merwe to pick out long-off.

And all the while, runs suddenly became endangered species. Pakistan blocked and hacked in panic, getting nowhere as the asking rate piled up. Between the 11th and 18th overs, it had ballooned from just over five to just under 15. Few games have turned on such a dime with no discernible change in circumstances. Pakistan had Faheem, and perhaps O’Dowd, to thank that it twisted once more in their ultimate favour.

Brief scores:
Pakistan 148 for 7 in 19.3 overs  (Shaibzada Farhan 47, Saim Aub 24, Salman Agha 12, Babar Azam 15, Faheem Ashraf 29*;  Paul van Meekeren 2-20, Aryan Dutt 2-33, Logan van Beek 1-46, Kyle Klein 1-23, Roelof van der Merwe 1-13) beat Netherlands 147 in 19.5 overs (Michael Levitt 24, Scott Edwards 37, Bas  de Leede 30, Colin Ackermann 20, Aryan Dutt 13; Shaeen Shah Afridi 1-2, Salman Mirza 3-24, Saim Ayub 2-07, Abrar Ahmed 2-23, Moammad Nawaz 2-38) by three wickets

[Cricinfo]