The Dutch found Pakistan’s world-class attack pace too hot to handle on a friendly track at Optus Stadium, only managing 91 out of 9 in their 20 overs.
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One of the hitters, Bas de Leede (6) retreated injured after being hit under the eye by a sniffer Haris Rauf.
The 92 goal would never have been a problem for Pakistan, but even then it took 13.5 overs to complete the chase with the # 20 T20 hitter. 1 of the ICC Muhammad Rizwan handling 49 out of 39 balloons with an insignificant strike rate of 125.64.
With Bangladesh also beating Zimbabwe in a thriller, Pakistan’s chances of staying alive in the tournament have increased.
The full credit for this victory will go to the bowlers, who hardly missed the day as Shaheen Shah Afridi (1/19 in 4 over) and Naseem Shah (1/11 in 4 over) stifled the flow of running in Powerplay and the Dutchmen could never break the chains.
A superb bowling performance led Pakistan to their first # T20WorldCup win and their first men’s T20I win on … https://t.co/fYdtLgTnEv
– T20 World Cup (@ T20WorldCup) 1667125606000
Mohammed Wasim (2/15 in 3 overs) was very quick during the back end while Shadab Khan reaped the rewards of this relentless pressure from speed merchants with top figures of 3/10.
For the Dutch, the kind of extreme pace they faced throughout the day is not something they are used to at the Associate level.
It was inevitable that they couldn’t really climb to the top of the bowling alley as Powerplay’s overs only produced 18 runs. It was a ball that hit the club rather than the other way around.
De Leede got a bad one from Rauf and was on all fours before he had to be kicked off the pitch. One saw a large swelling under his right eye as he walked off the pitch.
(Photo AP)
The short ball also played into the batters psyche as Colin Ackermann’s run-a-ball 27 was their highest score. The only other hitter to hit double digits was the skipper Scott Edwards (15 out of 20 balls).
Such was the dominance of the Pakistani attack that the Netherlands managed a cumulative total of just five borders in 20 overs.
During the serve, Babar Azam’s (4) run-out was unlucky as he failed to beat a direct shot from former Proteas spinner Roelof van der Merwe (who was playing for his country of birth) while Fakhar Zaman ( 20 out of 16 balloons) broke three fours before Edwards took a dive hold from the delivery of sailor Brandon Glover.
But Rizwan completed the chase with minimal effort.
