Despite Bas de Leede working his magic with both bat and ball, Pakistan emerged triumphant comfortably in Hyderabad on Friday as they started their campaign with an 81-run victory. Haris Rauf took three wickets, while Hassan Ali took two to bowl the Netherlands out for 205 in 41 overs, thereby sealing the win.
After electing to field first, the Netherlands rocked Pakistan by sending their top three back in the pavilion cheaply. None of Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, or Babar Azam could pass 20 and perished within the initial 10 overs. It seemed like the Dutch would run through Pakistan's batting line-up, but Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Rizwan triggered a rescue act by stitching a 120-run stand.
Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz add handy lower-order runs:
The Men in Green suffered another collapse as Shakeel and Rizwan departed for 68 runs each, while Iftikhar couldn't trouble the scores by much. With the Dutch expecting a run-chase of about 250, Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz shifted the momentum towards Pakistan with a 64-run partnership.
After Bas de Leede struck in consecutive deliveries, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf added more vital runs before Colin Ackermann picked up the final scalp.
Vikramjit Singh and Bas de Leede emerge with half-centuries:
The partnership of 70 between Vikramjit Singh and Bas de Leede was the most significant of the lot after Colin Ackermann and Max O'Dowd perished due to poor strokes. It was the 26th over of the innings that tilted the scales firmly towards Pakistan as Haris Rauf dismissed Teja Nidamanuru and Scott Edwards in the space of 3 deliveries.
At the other end, De Leede, who had earlier taken 4 wickets kept fighting, but also continued to lose partners. Left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz eventually ended his stay with a delivery that gripped and hit the off-stump, departed for 67. The remaining wickets were a mere formality as Logan van Beek was the last man standing, unbeaten at a run-a-ball 28.
