Pakistan defeated the Netherlands by 81 runs in the second match of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 held in Hyderabad on October 6.
Hyderabad did a great job against Pakistan’s bowling attack in the second half of the match against Netherlands. Holland were still chasing victory for 287 until the 23rd over, but the Men in Green attacked regularly from then on and took the match away.
Among Pakistan’s bowlers, Haris Rauf was picked with figures of 3/43 while Hasan Ali picked up two wickets of his own.
Pakistan were all out in the first innings, scoring 286 in 49 overs. Their innings was strengthened by his two big partnerships for the fourth and seventh wickets respectively. Bas de Leede shot 4/62 for the Dutch national team.
Match 2: Pakistan beats Netherlands by 81 runs
After 20 overs, Pakistan managed to take control of the game. Shadab Khan broke the threatening position between Vikramjit Singh and De Reid in the 24th over. Vikramjit (52) took one swipe towards the leg side and eventually gifted a catch in the deep.
But it was Rauf’s double wicket over that really brought the match back to Pakistan’s side. Rauf flicked past Teja Nidamanul and trapped Dutch captain Scott Edwards in the space of three balls.
From the other end, De Lied fought relentlessly and continued to aim for shots. He reached his half-century in the 28th over. However, his lonely struggle came to an end when he was bowled by Mohammed Nawaz in the 34th over. De Reid hit six fours and two sixes during the innings and scored 67 off 68.
Despite a heavy blow from Logan van Beek’s bat, Holland’s tail was cleaned up by the 41 over mark.
Prior to this, left-handed batsman Vikramjit gave a steady start for Holland. He hit one boundary after another and reached 28 without loss at the 5 over mark. However, the Dutch lost their wicket soon after when Max O’Dowd (5) fell while trying to make Hasan Ali for a six. All-rounder Colin Akerman tried to keep the runs flowing along with Vikramjit but fell shortly after the first powerplay. He went for a sweep against Iftikhar Ahmed in the 12th over but ended up missing the ball, which crashed into the middle stumps.
De Lied took up number four and made a deliberate knock to ensure the Dutch pursuit was on track.
From the middle of Pakistan’s innings onwards, Holland maintained the lead with a flurry of wickets. Feeling the need to change the pace of Pakistan’s scoring rate, Scott Edwards recalled off-spinner Aryan Dutt to the attack in the 29th over. And the adjuster found immediate success by defeating the dangerous Shaquille (68). Shaquille went for a sweep but checked the shot at the last moment. In the end, the southpaw was ambivalent and flicked the ball towards midwicket, where it was caught by Saquib Zulfikar.
Not long after, Mohammad Rizwan was beaten by De Lied, who hit the top of the stumps. De Lied also brought down the dangerous Iftikhar Ahmed in the same over. Pakistan were 6 down after 32 overs.
Despite the late starters trying to rebuild their innings once again, Pakistan’s scoring rate took a hit. Mohammed Nawaz and Shadab Khan took time to get used to it before increasing their scoring rate. Their 64-run stand was from 70 balls. De Lied finished the match after cleaning up Shadab in the 44th over. De Reid trapped Hasan Ali LBW from the next ball, further hurting Pakistan.
Pakistan added 34 runs for the last two wickets but failed to meet their quota for the over. Pakistan, who were 143/3 at the halfway mark, scored exactly the same runs in the next 24 overs but also lost their remaining wickets.
At the beginning of the innings, Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq found themselves in a tough situation on a surface where the ball occasionally held its line or turned in different directions. Edwards got the bowling combination right, alternating spinners like Aryan Dutt and Colin Akerman with the judicious pace of Logan van Beek and Paul van Meekeren.
The result was three important wickets taken in the powerplay overs. Fakhar finished first, gifting Van Beek with a return catch before falling for 12. Babar’s stay at the crease was unsatisfactory and the batsman was buckled by the Dutch spinners. He mistimed his pull against Ackerman and had five falls. The last one left was Imam, who took one too many and conceded a catch at fine leg to Aryan Dutt in the 10th over.
The fourth wicket pair of Rizwan and Shakeel adopted an aggressive policy to get the innings going again and found success in the early stages of the second powerplay. Between overs 11 and 20, Pakistan managed to score just shy of a run over. There was a clear change in tactics, especially from Shaquille. He crossed numerous boundaries on his way to reaching his half-century in just 32 balls. This is Pakistan’s second fastest 50 seconds in the history of the Men’s Cricket World Cup.
The two put together a 100-run partnership in 25 overs.
Dutch captain Scott Edwards called it at the moment of the toss and the Netherlands opted to play against Babar Azam’s Pakistan. Mr. Edwards answered the call on the belief that the wicket would probably come loose under the lights. Pakistan has a perfect record against the Netherlands in ODI format with 6 wins and 0 losses.
While Pakistan were aiming for their usual top three of Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq and Babar Azam, Abdullah Shafiq, who played in the warm-up matches for the tournament, could not find a place. In the bowling department, pacers Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf will be supported by Hasan Ali while spinners will be Shadab Khan and Mohammed Nawaz.
The Netherlands may not be the most famous team, but they showed their mettle in the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup qualifiers. The Dutch do not rely on specific names. And that’s shown in recent wins. I have contributed. The European team is strengthened by the presence of a number of all-round options within its ranks.
play XI
Pakistan
Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakir, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Harris Rauch
Netherlands
Vikramjit Singh, Max O Dowd, Colin Ackermann, Bas de Reid, Teja Nidamanul, Scott Edwards (c) (wk), Sakub Zulfiqar, Logan van Beek, Roelof van der・Merwe, Aryan Dutt, Paul van Meekeren