ICC World Cup 2023: Netherlands restrict Pakistan to 286 in first inning

• Pakistan lost wickets early on in their first inning.
• Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Rizwan put together a 120-run partnership.
• Pakistan entered the 50-over World Cup as one of the favorites.

The Netherlands quickly took Pakistan’s wickets to limit Pakistan to 286 runs in the encounter on Friday in the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, India, shattering Babar Azam’s hopes of scoring a 300-run total.

Despite Pakistan’s best efforts to record a maximum target, the national team’s batting lineup continued to struggle as the Dutch bowlers dominated the innings.

Before being stumped, Haris Rauf hit two boundaries and a sixer during his brief innings.

Prior to this, the Men in Green were in a hazardous situation due to the consecutive dismissals of Hassan Ali and Shadab Khan, who attempted to maintain the pace after the fall of the sixth wicket.

After the Dutch broke the over 100-run partnership between Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Rizwan, Pakistan’s attempt to rebuild the innings in the wake of the top order’s swift dismissals was hampered before Iftikhar Ahmed was bowled out for just 9 runs.

With Pakistan at 38/3, the top three batters, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, and Imam-ul-Haq, all fell within the first 10 overs.

The Pakistani captain also scooped one on the leg side and fell cheaply at 5, but Zaman was the first to exit.

Later, before Netherlands Aryan Dutt dismissed Saud, Saud and Rizwan’s 120-run partnership had brought Pakistan to 162.

The Netherlands won the toss and decided to bowl first.

Earlier, Netherlands skipper Scott Edwards said he opted to bowl first as he believes it would be easier to bat under lights here at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad.

Edwards, while talking at the toss, said that he was hopeful of a good performance against the Green Shirts because they’ve played Pakistan a lot in recent years.

On the other hand, Pakistani skipper Babar Azam said that they will be looking to set a target between 290-300.

This is the seventh time Pakistan and the Netherlands are facing off each other in an ODI. The two sides have faced off six times in the format, their first meeting in the 1996 iteration of the ICC Cricket World Cup, and Pakistan has come out victorious on each occasion.

Pakistan and the Netherlands are playing each other in an ODI for the seventh time. The first matchup between the two teams occurred in the 1996 edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup, and Pakistan has won all six meetings between the two teams in the format.

In the inaugural bilateral series between the two nations last year, Pakistan toured the Netherlands and won all three games.

After an outstanding run in the just-finished World Cup cycle, when they had the greatest win-loss ratio of 2.400 with 24 victories in 36 matches, Pakistan entered the 50-over World Cup as one of the favorites.

The team’s mainstays becoming strong performers over time has also contributed to their ability to play so regularly.

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