ISLAMABAD: Pakistan began their World Cup campaign with a resounding 81-run triumph over the Netherlands on Friday, as they managed to dismiss the Dutch batters for 201 runs in their pursuit of a 287-run target.
The match was played at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad.
Haris Rauf led the wicket-taking charts with three scalps in his 10 overs, conceding 43 runs. Hasan Ali followed closely, taking two wickets for 33 runs in his seven overs, while Shaheen, Iftikhar, Nawaz, and Shadab chipped in with one wicket each.
Bas de Leede was the top scorer for the Dutch side with 67 runs, while opener Vikramjit Singh contributed 52 runs. However, apart from them, none of the other batsmen managed to make a substantial impact.
Earlier, Leede took four wickets as Pakistan were bowled out for 286, derailing an innings which featured half-centuries from Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Rizwan.
De Leede finished with 4-62 to bring the Netherlands back into the game after Shakeel struck an attractive 52-ball 68 and Rizwan’s 75-ball 68 boosted Pakistan after they were sent in to bat.
Dutch pacer Logan van Beek had out-of-form opener Fakhar Zaman caught and bowled for 12 in the fourth over.
Spinner Colin Ackermann then claimed the prized wicket of skipper Babar Azam for five before Paul van Meekeren dismissed Imam-ul-Haq for 15 to leave Pakistan tottering at 38-3.
Shakeel and Rizwan — playing their first World Cup match — steadied the innings with a solid 120-run stand for the fourth wicket but three wickets fell in the space of 24 balls for 30 runs.
Shakeel, who struck nine boundaries and a six, miscued a sweep off-spinner Aryan Dutt before De Leede bowled Rizwan and had Iftikhar Ahmed for nine. Rizwan hit eight boundaries.
Pakistan were further lifted as Mohammad Nawaz (39) and Shadab Khan (32) added 64 for the seventh wicket but De Leede dismissed Shadab and Hasan Ali off successive deliveries.
Nawaz was run out in the 47th over before Haris Rauf’s dismissal off Ackermann finished the innings in 49 overs.
Pakistan picked two frontline spinners in Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz alongside fast bowlers Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf and Hasan Ali.
The Netherlands, the only Associate side in the World Cup, have Roelof van der Merwe, Aryan Dutt, and Saqib Zulfiqar as their spin options.
Pakistan team: Fakhar Zaman, Imamul Haq, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf.
The Netherlands team: Vikramjit Singh, Max O’Dowd, Colin Ackermann, Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Scott Edwards, Saqib Zulfiqar, Logan van Beek, Roelof van der Merwe, Aryan Dutt and Paul van Meekeren.
