HYDERABAD – Pakistan deal with outsiders Netherlands of their opening match of the World Cup on Friday (October 6, 2023), determined to keep away from a repeat of the disastrous begin of 4 years in the past which underneathmined their marketing campaign. In 2019, Pakistan misplaced to the West Indies first up in Nottingham. Shot out for a paltry 105 in 21.four overs, Pakistan went down by seven wickets. They finally missed out on a semi-final spot on web run-rate. 4 years on and Pakistan are already driving a well-known match rollercoaster.
They crashed out of final month´s Asia Cup after a giant defeat in opposition to arch-rivals India earlier than being ousted by Sri Lanka within the Tremendous 4 stage. Additionally they misplaced each their latest World Cup warm-ups in opposition to New Zealand and Australia.
Regardless of the sketchy kind, captain Babar Azam insists his staff are prepared for the World Cup in a rustic which solely two of the squad have ever visited. Pakistan final performed in India in 2016 on the Twenty20 World Cup. “We had good follow within the final week since our arrival and two helpful exercises within the warm-up video games,” mentioned Azam.
The captain is the top-ranked batsman in ODI cricket and reinforced his credentials with knocks of 80 and 90 within the two warm-ups, returning to kind after a dismal Asia Cup. “The primary match of a match is all the time crucial so we’re undoubtedly wanting ahead to a profitable begin,” he mentioned.
Babar insisted 1992 champions Pakistan is not going to underestimate the Dutch, a staff they’ve defeated six instances in six conferences. The Netherlands, ranked 14 on this planet, needed to come by way of the qualifying match in Zimbabwe earlier this 12 months and made it to the World Cup alongside Sri Lanka.
“I need to congratulate the Netherlands for enjoying on this World Cup. They performed some good cricket within the qualifiers and that’s the reason they’re right here,” added Babar. “There isn’t any room for complacency and we might be on the ball from the primary match.”
Pakistan will hope their spin trio of Shadab Khan, Usama Mir and Mohammad Nawaz, backed by part-timers Iftikhar Ahmed and Agha Salman, expose opponents´ weaknesses in opposition to gradual bowling on the match. Alalthough they’re with out the injured Naseem Shah, spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf will pose a formidable new ball risk. The Netherlands have solely ever gained two matches on the World Cup since their maiden look in 1996. Spinners Colin Ackermann and Roelof van der Merwe, and pacer Paul van Meekeren are again after lacking the qualifiers.
Wesley Barresi, the one surviving member of the 2011 World Cup on the sub-continent, lends expertise to the batting which additionally boasts prime run-getters Max O´Dowd, Vikramjit Singh, Teja Nidamanuru and skipper Scott Edwards. However their hopes will relaxation largely on all-rounders Bas de Leede and Logan van Beek, key performers on the qualifiers. De Leede scored 285 runs and picked up 15 wickets in Zimbabwe whereas Van Beek smashed 30 runs and took two wickets within the knife-edge Tremendous Over win in opposition to the West Indies. “The chance to play in a World Cup is one thing that a variety of these guys have dreamt of,” mentioned Tonga-born Edwards.
Regardless of their standing as rank outsiders, the Dutch don’t lack confidence. “We maintain excessive hopes going into this World Cup that we are able to put in a few really huge performances and people can lead to wins,” coach Ryan Cook dinner mentioned. “We´ll be placing everything that we are able to in to getting 5 or 6 wins to take us into the semi-finals.”