Web Desk (LTN NEWS): The tourists got off to a slow start, but after 50 overs, they had a strong score of 314-6. Pakistan beat the Netherlands by 16 runs in the first of a three-game series on Tuesday in Rotterdam. Opener Fakhar Zaman scored his seventh one-day international century to lead Pakistan to victory.
Pakistan won the toss and chose to bat on a day when big scores were expected on a slow pitch at the VOC Cricket Club outside the Dutch harbor city.
Even though the Dutch tried hard to get more runs, they ended up with 298-8 against a determined Pakistani team cheered on by a lot of loud fans.
Zaman scored 109 runs in 109 balls, and Babar Azam, the captain, scored 74 runs before being caught after mistiming a ball from Dutch fast bowler Logan van Beek.
Pakistan’s batting was held back at first by the home team’s bowlers. Danger man Imam-ul-Haq was the first Pakistani batsman to be out. He was run out by fast bowler Vivian Kingma in the sixth over after taking 19 balls to score two.
But Zaman and Azam eventually let loose and put together a score of 168 runs off 170 balls before Azam was caught by Tom Cooper at mid-off when he mistimed a shot.
Zaman was out of the game after two overs, when Dutch captain and wicketkeeper Scott Edwards ran him out with a brilliant throw from deep mid-wicket by Bas de Leede.
Pakistan looked like they were going to get a higher score, but the Dutch bowlers did a good job of keeping them down. The young spin bowlers Aryan Dutt and Tim Pringle caused problems with their bowling.
The Dutch did not play well on the field, though. They dropped a few catches, and Kingma in particular dropped a crucial high ball that gave Zaman a second chance when he was on 43.
When the Dutch were batting second, a fastball hit Max O’Dowd in the pads and got him out lbw in the second over. This was Naseem Shah’s (3-51) first ODI.
Shah struck again later in the innings. Teja Nidamanuru was out because he pulled a ball onto his stumps, and Pringle was out for a golden duck because he was caught leg before.
Haris Rauf (3-67) took the important wicket of veteran Cooper, who scored 65 runs off 54 balls.
Cooper and 19-year-old Vikramjit Singh Singh (65), who helped steady the Dutch innings with 97 runs, batted together.
Then Edwards hit the ball, and the Dutch needed 48 runs off 24 balls with three overs left. Even though Edwards hit a heroic 71 off of 60 balls, the Dutch still lost.
On Thursday, the second ODI will be played at the VOC cricket ground, and the last game of the series will be played there on Sunday.
Pakistan got off to a slow start, but by the end of the first one-day international against the Netherlands on Tuesday in Rotterdam, they had a strong 314-6 score.
Left-handed opener Fakhar Zaman scored 109, which was his seventh ODI century. Captain Babar Azam scored 74, but was caught when he mistimed a delivery from Dutch fast bowler Logan van Beek.
In the first game of a three-game series, Pakistan won the toss and chose to bat on a hot and muggy day at the VOC cricket ground outside the Dutch harbor city.
Pakistan’s batting was held back at first by the home team’s bowlers. Danger man Imam-ul-Haq was the first Pakistani batsman to be out. He was run out by fast bowler Vivian Kingma in the sixth over after taking 19 balls to score two.
But Zaman and Azam eventually let loose and put together a score of 168 runs off 170 balls before Azam was caught by Tom Cooper at mid-off when he mistimed a shot.
Zaman was out of the game after two overs, when Dutch captain and wicketkeeper Scott Edwards ran him out with a brilliant throw from deep mid-wicket by Bas de Leede.
Pakistan looked like they were going to get a higher score, but the Dutch bowlers did a good job of keeping them down on a slow pitch. The young spin bowlers Aryan Dutt and Tim Pringle caused problems with their bowling.
The Dutch did not do well in the field, though, and dropped a few catches. Kingma’s fumble of a high ball gave Zaman a chance to stay in the game when he was on 43.
Pakistan won the Toss
Earlier, Pakistan won the toss and chose to bat first against the Netherlands in the first of a three-game one-day international (ODI) series at the Voetbalvereeniging Cricket Stadium in Rotterdam.
It’s important to note that Pakistan won’t have their number three ODI bowler, Shaheen Shah Afridi, for the first two games because he has a knee injury.
But Pakistan’s captain, Babar Azam, was still optimistic about the series and hoped that younger players would step up and fill Shaheen’s spot.
“Since Shaheen Shah Afridi won’t be there, this is a chance for younger players to step up and show what they can do,” the captain said a day before the match.
This is the first ever bilateral series between the Netherlands and Pakistan’s ODI team, which is led by Babar. On August 18 and 21, there will be two more games.
The three-game series is part of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League. The visiting team, which has 90 points, is currently in fifth place. The team led by Babar will try to win all three games to move up to second place in the points table.
A few important milestones are coming up for Pakistan’s best players. The best ODI player, Babar Azam, needs one more century to become the only Pakistan captain to score 10 tons in international cricket. Mohammad Rizwan, who keeps wickets and bats, needs 18 more runs to reach 1,000 ODI runs.
Imam-ul-Haq is second in the ICC batters’ rankings, behind his captain Babar. He will be hoping to keep up his good form after getting seven fifty-plus scores in a row in ODIs.
In June 2022, Pakistan beat the West Indies 3-0 at home in a three-match ODI series. He scored 65, 72, and 62, which made him the player of the series.
