WC2023 – Netherlands Unable to Match Pakistan’s Brilliance in World Cup ODI

Varad Bhatkhande

Hyderabad,6th October 2023 – In the second official match of the Cricket ODI World Cup 2023, Pakistan took on the Netherlands at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. Netherlands captain Scott Edwards won the toss and elected to bowl first, facing the formidable Pakistani team.

Pakistan was considered the favourites in this encounter, with high expectations riding on their performance. A victory for the Netherlands would have been a major upset. Pakistan’s opening batsmen, Fakhar Zaman and Imam ul Haq, failed to make an impact in Pakistan’s World Cup opener. Captain Babar Azam also struggled to find runs.

Muhammad Rizwan emerged as the saviour for Pakistan, scoring 68 runs off 75 balls before getting caught by Saqib Zulfiqar on a delivery from Colin Ackerman. Saud Shakeel added another 68 runs off 52 balls before being bowled out by Bas de Leede. Muhammad Nawaz and Shadab Khan provided a valuable late surge, helping Pakistan reach a total of 286 all out in 49 overs.

For the Netherlands, Bas de Leede was the standout performer with the ball, taking 4 wickets in his 9 overs while conceding only 62 runs. Aryan Dutta, Logan van Beek, and Paul van Meekeren each claimed one wicket, and Colin Ackerman managed to take two.

Chasing a target of 287, Netherlands opener Vikramjit Singh scored a valiant 52 runs off 67 balls before being caught by Fakhar Zaman off Shadab Khan’s delivery. Bas de Leede also contributed with the bat, scoring 67 runs off 68 balls before Mohammed Nawaz dismissed him. However, the other batsmen from the Netherlands cricket team failed to make an impact.

Despite their batting struggles, the Netherlands showcased a commendable bowling performance. Nevertheless, they were eventually bowled out for 205, resulting in Pakistan winning the match by a comfortable margin of 81 runs.

From Pakistan’s bowling side, Haris Rauf was the pick of the bowlers, claiming three wickets in his 9 overs while conceding 43 runs. Hassan Ali took two wickets, while Shaheen Afridi, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammed Nawaz, and Shadab Khan all chipped in with one wicket each.

This victory marks Pakistan’s successful start to their World Cup campaign, while the Netherlands must regroup and demonstrate their potential in future matches.

In tomorrow’s fixtures, there will be two exciting matches. The first game is set to begin at 10:30 a.m. between Bangladesh and Afghanistan at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala, while the second match kicks off at 2:00 p.m., featuring South Africa and Sri Lanka at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.