On Sunday, Pakistan’s bowlers, led by spinner Shadab Khan, beat the Netherlands by six wickets. It happened in Perth to earn their first victory in the Twenty20 World Cup. Pakistan beat Netherlands to maintain T20 World Cup hope. This kept the team’s slim prospects of advancing to the semifinals alive.
Pakistan beat Netherlands to maintain T20 World Cup hope
Pakistan bowled out the Dutch for 91 runs and then scored 95 runs in their innings with 37 balls to spare, thanks to Mohammad Rizwan’s 49-run knock. The bowlers laid the groundwork for a win for a team that had previously lost their opening match to India and been stunned by Zimbabwe in Group 2.
To set the tone for their team’s dominance, Shadab delivered figures of 3-22. Fast bowler Mohammad Wasim claimed two wickets against a Dutch side that is now out of semifinal contention. It is after losing their third consecutive Super 12 encounter.
Captain Babar Azam was run out for four in the second over of Pakistan’s chase. It was after a direct throw from Roelof van der Merwe. Rizwan went on the offensive from the get-go. Scoring 37 runs alongside the returning Fakhar Zaman while hitting five fours. After a crowd of over 10,000, mostly Pakistani fans. They watched Pakistan fall short by one run in their chase of a modest 130 against Zimbabwe on Thursday; fast bowler Brandon Glover had Zaman caught behind for 20.
But a 30-run stand between Rizwan and Shan Masood eased tensions, and even though they both fell in the end, Pakistan easily reached their goal thanks to a winning four from bowling hero Shadab. Captain Scott Edwards of the Netherlands won the toss and elected to bat first, but the new ball bowlers for Pakistan maintained a tight line and only allowed three runs in the first two overs.
Disquiet subsided
After returning opener Stephan Myburgh blasted a boundary off of Shaheen Shah Afridi, he was promptly out for six when caught at fine leg trying for another big shot on the next ball. Pakistan’s fast bowlers didn’t let up at any point. Wasim grabbed two wickets in as many balls, but Paul van Meekeren could hold on to the hat trick ball, and Haris Rauf made excellent use of the bounce.
After taking a vicious bouncer from Rauf that went through Bas de Leede’s helmet grill, the batsman stood up from the ground wincing in pain from a bruised cheekbone. In the dugout, he sat out the rest of the game with a black eye that looked terrible. After the power play, Shadab’s leg spin had Tom Cooper caught for one. And then, in his next over. He trapped Max O’Dowd lbw for eight.
With the score at 34-3 after ten overs and De Leede injured, the Netherlands captain, Edwards, and Colin Ackermann (27) sought to rebuild with a 35-run stand. But after they were separated, the wickets kept falling. Using a flatter, quicker delivery, Shadab bowled out Ackermann lbw. Then Naseem Shah dismissed Edwards for 15.
The final wicket was Van Meekeren, who was run out for seven off the last ball. Pakistan may still make the semifinals with a win on Thursday against South Africa and a win against Bangladesh in a week, but only if other results go their way.
SQUADS
Pakistan XI: Babar Azam (c), Muhammad Rizwan (wk), Shan Masood, Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah.
Netherlands XI: Max O’Dowd, Stephan Myburgh, Bas de Leede, Tom Cooper, Colin Ackermann, Scott Edwards (c, wk). Roelof van der Merwe, Tim Pringle, Fred Klaassen, Paul van Meekeren, Brandon Glover.
