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ICC World Cup: Pakistan defeats Netherlands by 81 runs in opening match

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In Cricket, Pakistan defeated the Netherlands by 81 runs in their opening match of Men’s ODI World Cup in Hyderabad. Chasing a target of 287 runs set by Pakistan, Netherlands were all out for 205 in 41 overs.

A fantastic all-round performance from Bas de Leede (4-62 and 67) wasn’t enough to stop Pakistan who registered a comfortable 81-run win over Netherlands in Hyderabad on Friday (October 6). Chasing a competitive target of 287, de Leede and Vikramjit Singh got fifties but none of the other batters stayed long enough to threaten Pakistan’s bowling attack.

The chase started on a positive note with Vikramjit finding the fence a few times in the first Powerplay but Hasan Ali drew first blood with the massive wicket of Max O’Dowd. The seasoned Colin Ackermann looked fluent in his brief stay but an overambitious shot led to his downfall against the part-time spin of Iftikhar Ahmed who cleaned up the Dutch no.3 batter. De Leede, fresh from his bowling exploits, got into the act straightaway and his partnership with Vikramjit was a promising stand for Netherlands. Given the trend of chasing teams cruising in the warm-up games in Hyderabad, Pakistan were feeling the heat.

That’s the moment when Shadab Khan broke the partnership, with Vikramjit holing out to deep mid-wicket. Haris Rauf then broke the game open with a brilliant second spell. He delivered twin strikes in a single over and massive ones at that to send back Teja Nidamanuru and Scott Edwards. It was hostile fast bowling and both batters were undone by Rauf’s skill. Nidamanuru fell to the short ball plan while Edwards got beaten for pace to be trapped LBW.

Despite the fall of wickets, de Leede kept going but eventually, he also fell to a great delivery from Mohammad Nawaz.Rauf and Ali made short work of the tail although Logan van Beek struck a few blows to limit the margin of defeat. It still is a huge margin of victory for Pakistan who had their own share of troubles in the batting department earlier in the day.

They had lost their famed top-three in the first ten overs and needed a brilliant partnership from Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Rizwan to bail them out. Both batters got fifties and their century stand helped Pakistan to reverse the pressure on the Dutch bowlers. However, once they fell, Netherlands kept chipping away at the wickets to keep Pakistan in check.

Mohammad Nawaz and Shadab Khan stitched another useful stand down the order while Shaheen Afridi and Rauf also got a few vital runs to stretch Pakistan’s score past the 285-run mark. It was a score that didn’t seem possible when they had lost their sixth wicket at the score of 188. In hindsight, those valuable runs scored by the lower order had a massive significance on the game’s eventual result. Netherlands were disciplined for most parts and managed to stifle Pakistan but the Dutch bowlers arguably missed their mark a bit in the death overs.

It still was a chaseable score but the pitch didn’t ease out as much as it had in Hyderabad during the warm-up games. The track still had runs to be made as de Leede showed as the all-rounder had a starry outing in the field. Unfortunately for him, he didn’t get the kind of support needed to overhaul the target. Rauf’s second spell in particular was too hot to handle although the Dutch will no doubt question some of their shot selection as well.

Brief scores: Pakistan 286 in 49 overs (Saud Shakeel 68, Mohammad Rizwan 68; Bas de Leede 4-62) vs Netherlands 205 in 41 overs (Bas de Leede 67, Vikramjit Singh 52; Haris Rauf 3-43, Hasan Ali 2-33) by 81 runs

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