Gull Feroza enjoyed an unbeaten half-century but a disciplined bowling attack from the Netherlands fought back to restrict Pakistan to a modest total of 126 in their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 clash at the County Ground in Bristol, England, on Saturday.
Pakistan captain Fatima Sana’s decision to bat first proved beneficial as they accumulated 126/6 in their 20 overs, thanks to the second-wicket partnership between Ayesha Zafar and Feroza.
The Green Shirts, however, had a shaky start to the innings as they lost opener left-hander Muneeba (12) off the first delivery of the fourth over with just 15 runs on the board.
After the early stutter, Ayesha joined Feroza in the middle, and the duo batted reasonably to muster 79 runs for the second wicket at a brisk pace, laying the foundation for a big total.
Silver Siegers finally broke the stand in the 14th over as she avenged Ayesha after being hit for a six off the first delivery. The right-handed batter returned after scoring 32 off 29 tosses with the help of two fours and a six.
With Ayesha’s dismissal, Pakistan captain Fatima decided to promote herself and left to bat at No. 4, but the move could not bear fruit as she was able to muster three before falling victim to Iris Zwilling in the 16th over.
Pakistan then suffered another setback in the next match as Eyman Fatima, making her first appearance in the Women’s T20 World Cup, was dismissed by Caroline de Lange after a six-ball duck.
Heather Siegers dealt another blow to Pakistan’s batting charge in the penultimate over by dismissing Iram Javed, who could bowl two deliveries off just five, while Zwilling struck again in the final over, removing Saira Jabeen (five).
Meanwhile, Feroza carried her bat throughout and returned after top-scoring with an unbeaten 63 off 52 deliveries, laced with nine fours.
Zwilling was the standout player for Netherlands as she took two wickets for 19 runs in her four overs, while Hannah Landheer, Heather, Silver and de Lange managed a scalp each.
