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Pakistan vs Netherlands; Pakistan began their pursuit of a first 50-over World Cup title since 1992 and began the current World Cup campaign on a winning note, going past a fighting Netherlands by 81 runs in Hyderabad.
Babar Azam’s men were made to work for their victory by the side viewed as rank outsiders heading into the tournament as Dutch all-rounder Bas de Leede impressed with bat and ball.
De Leede had bagged five wickets and scored 123 against Scotland in the qualifying tournament to secure Netherlands’ spot in this World Cup – their first since 2011 – and he claimed a four-wicket haul and struck 67 versus Pakistan before his side were outgunned.
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De Leede twice picked up two wickets in an over as Pakistan were all out for 286, bowling Mohammad Rizwan (68) with a beauty and having Iftikhar Ahmed (9) caught behind in the 32nd before finding himself on a hat-trick when he castled Shadab (32) and trapped Hasan Ali (0) lbw in the 44th.
Pak play Sri Lanka in their second match on Tuesday, with Netherlands aiming to cause an upset a day earlier against a New Zealand side who trounced England by nine wickets in the tournament opener in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
Pakistan 286 all out in 49 overs: Saud Shakeel (68 off 52 balls), Mohammad Rizwan (68 off 75 balls); Bas de Leede (4-62)
Netherlands 205 all out in 41 overs: Bas de Leede (67 off 68 balls), Vikram Singh (52 off 67 balls); Haris Rauf (3-43)
Pakistan were on the back foot at 38-3 in the 10th over after being inserted, with skipper Babar (5) and openers Fakhar Zaman (12) and Imam-ul-Haq (15) all dismissed, only for Rizwan and Saud Shakeel (68) to put on 120 for the fourth wicket in 114 deliveries.
That stand was ended when Shakeel fell tamely on the sweep, while Pakistan were 188-6 three overs later as De Leede nipped a delicious delivery between Rizwan’s bat and pad and then nicked off Iftikhar.
Shadab and Mohammad Nawaz (39) took Pakistan past 250 with a half-century stand before they lost their last four wickets for 34 runs.
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Saturday is a double game day in the World Cup with Bangladesh vs Afghanistan starting at 6 am on Sky Sports Mix before South Africa face Sri Lanka from 9.30am on Sky Sports Cricket.
Pakistan Vs Netherlands Past Statistics
Pakistan and the Netherlands have faced each other in six one-dayers so far, with the former winning all six meetings. The two sides first met in a 1996 World Cup clash in Lahore.
The most recent meeting between the two sides was in Rotterdam in August 2022, where Pakistan escaped embarrassment with a nine-run win.
Here’s a brief summary of their head-to-head stats:
Total matches played: 6
Matches won by Pakistan: 6
Matches won by Netherlands: 0
Matches tied: 0
Matches with no result: 0
