Women's T20 World Cup: Pakistan end 7-match losing streak, beat Netherlands by 37 runs

Pakistan finished their campaign in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 on a winning note, beating Netherlands by 37 runs in Match 26 on Saturday, June 27 at County Ground, Bristol. After opting to bat first, Pakistan posted 126/6 in their allotted 20 overs with Gull Feroza top-scoring, while Ayesha Zafar (32 off 29) also made a valuable contribution.

In reply, Netherlands were skittled for 89 in 18 overs with only Babette de Leede (30 off 41) and Heather Siegers (24 off 16) showing some fight. The Dutch capitulated against Ayesha Zafar (3/13) and captain Fatima Sana, who scalped three wickets each. 

As a result, Pakistan registered their first win after facing seven successive losses in the T20 World Cup. They finished second last (fifth) in Group A points table with just two points from five games, while Netherlands finished last, remaining winless after five matches.

Top run-scorer of the Match

Top wicket-taker of the Match

Player of the Match

Gull Feroza was adjudged Player of the Match for her brilliant half-century. She stitched a crucial 79-run stand off 61 balls for the second wicket with Ayesha Zafar (32 off 29), after Muneeba Ali (12 off 13) departed cheaply, leaving Pakistan on 15/1. 

Turning Point

Netherlands were in the game after 14 overs, needing 51 runs to win off 36 balls, having seven wickets in hand. However, Ayesha Zafar changed the complexion of the match in the 15^th over as she first got Robine Rijke lbw on the very first ball. Later, she got Sanya Khurana stumped on the fourth delivery for a three-ball duck and finished with a double-wicket maiden. From there on, Netherlands could never make a comeback and got crushed under the scoreboard pressure.

What did the captains say:

Winning Captain, Fatima Sana (Pakistan women):

We needed a win and credit goes to the whole team the way they played today. [On the crucial partnership between Ayesha Zafar and Gull Feroza after losing an early wicket] Yeah, Ayesha Zafar is also a senior player, and she played a lot of time in the Pakistan team, and she knows how to take responsibility. And today she took it, and Gull Feroza batted, I think, what we needed in the last couple of matches. [On contributing with the ball despite missing out with the bat] I think as an all-rounder, I just prefer that whatever I do, it goes to the team. So I think it must be a good day for everyone. [On the way forward for Pakistan women’s cricket after ending the tournament with a win] Definitely we need to be better on the batting side. So we need to improve the batting lineup. And hopefully when we go back, we will discuss a lot of things, especially the batting side, because we need to improve more on the batting side.

Losing Captain, Babette de Leede (Netherlands women):

[On the Netherlands’ bowling performance in restricting Pakistan to 126/6] I think our bowlers were excellent today. I think to be able to restrict Pakistan to this score on this ground, I think was a really good effort from us. Unfortunately, we couldn’t quite get there after a good start. [On the positives the team can take from the tournament despite falling short in the run chase] I think playing against the best teams in the world is so crucial for us as a team to improve our cricket, to learn from this, to play games at this level, I think is so valuable for us. I think, yeah, this experience has been incredible. We take so much from it. And this is only just the beginning, hopefully, for Dutch cricket. [On her experience captaining the Netherlands against the world’s best teams] It was incredible. I think it was so special. This team, as you know, we’re not professional cricketers at all. So to be able to be here, play the way we have played, I think we can be really proud of ourselves.