Pakistan Pack a Punch

Hyderabad: Pakistan nailed Netherlands to begin their World Cup campaign on a winning note but not before surviving some anxious moments at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium here on Friday night.

A chase of 286 was too big for the Dutch, who threw a couple of punches via Vikramjit Singh (52 in 67 balls, 4x4, 1x6) and Bas de Leede (67 in 68 balls, 6x4, 2x6) before being bowled out for 205 in 41 overs.

The Orange were in the game till the half-way stage at 125 for 3 before a double strike by Haris Rauf in the 27th over dashed their hopes. Rauf would have got his third wicket in the same over had it not been for a butter-fingered Iftikhar Ahmed, who dropped Saqib Zulfiqar at first slip. However, the cookie had crumbled by then.

Earlier, Pakistan lived up to their unsteady reputation to go up and down before putting up a strong total, courtesy stabilising 68 each by Mohammad Rizwan and Saud Shakeel before Mohammad Nawaz (39) and Shadab Khan (32) pushed them past the 250 mark.

But it was Netherlands who sprang the first surprise. Captain Scott Edwards got off-spinner Aryan Dutt to open the attack after winning the toss and putting Pakistan in to bat. Dutt began with a beauty that beat Fakhar Zaman first up and sent down a tidy first over.

Then, it was Pakistan’s turn to baffle the spectators. They lost three wickets inside the first 10 overs with the score reading a lowly 38. Logan van Beek struck the first blow by sending back Fakhar Zaman (12) with a caught & bowled effort in the fourth over. Captain Babar Azam (5) did not last long, the in-form batsman pulled off-spinner Colin Ackermann straight into the hands of Saqib Zulfiqar at mid-wicket. Then, Imam-ul-Haq tried to hook pacer Paul van Meekeren’s first delivery only to hole out to Dutt in the deep -- Pakistan in deep trouble.

That brought Mohammad Rizwan and Saud Shakeel together. The two maintained poise and played cautiously to ensure there was no further damage. Gradually, they got into the groove and began to stroke the ball around.

Shakeel slammed the first six of the innings off left-arm spinner Roelof van der Merwe in the 22nd over on a free-hit following a no-ball, result of the Dutch having an extra fielder outside the circle. Soon the left-hander switched gears and began motoring around. Not to be left behind, Rizwan too let it rip as the duo picked runs at a fast pace. The boundaries began to flow as the two settled down and steadied the Pakistani ship with a 120-run partnership for the fourth wicket.

Then, they suddenly lost control by losing three quick wickets -- those of Shakeel, Rizwan and Iftikhar -- between overs 29 and 32.

It required another solid stand of 64 for the seventh wicket between Shadab and Nawaz to lift the Greens out of the red zone.

Brief scores: Pakistan 286 in 49 overs (Mohammad Rizwan 68, Saud Shakeel 68, Mohammad Nawaz 39, Shadab Khan 32, Bas de Leede 4/62, Colin Ackermann 2/39) bt The Netherlands 205 in 41 overs (Vikramjit Singh 52, Bas de Leede 67, Haris Rauf 3/43, Hasan Ali 2/33).