Headlined by a brisk ton from opener Fakhar Zaman, Pakistan got a convincing won within the 1st ODI against the Netherlands at Rotterdam on Tues, when the hosts place up a stiff challenge.
Fakhar Zaman:
After opting to bat 1st, Pakistan lost imaum ul Haq early however managed to recover well through a 172-run stand the second wicket between Zaman and Babar Azam. The previous led he counterattack first hit the wicket-taker Vivian Kingma for 3 boundaries spoiling an otherwise tight first spell.
Zaman got his fifty off sixty-six balls before shifting gears all over again. The last forty-three balls he faced fetched him fifty-nine runs because the partnership helped lay a robust foundation for Pakistan.
Azam, who stuck to a gradual pace at some stage in his innings attained his twentieth ODI fifty with 3 boundaries in an over off Tim Pringle. The duo, however, fell in fast succession when Azam miscued an enormous hit, and Zaman was run out immediately after going for a second run.
Pakistan got another boost at the death once the last twenty-five balls fetched forty-eight runs. Shadab Khan and Agha Salman hit seven boundaries and 2 sixes within the rousing stand that helped Pakistan to 314. Within the chase, Netherlands was helped on by 3 fifties and were kept within the hunt through quickfire knocks from Tom Cooper and Scott Edwards.
Needing forty-eight from the last four overs, with the innings already within the interior of an upsurge, Netherlands faltered within the last lost 2 wickets in as several balls derailed the chase.
Earlier, the innings had got a foundation with opener Vikramjit Singh’s watchful sixty-eight when they lost 3 wickets at the opposite end. His 97-run association with Cooper 1st got the innings back on course.
However, with each falling the house of twelve balls, there was another wobble that was steady by Edwards’ unconquered seventy-one. His helpful associations with the lower order took the Netherlands inside touching distance of the whole before Pakistan force things back within the death overs as Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf finished with 3 wickets for each one.
Scores briefly
PAKISTAN 314/6 (Fakhar Zaman 109, Babar Azam seventy-four, Shadab Khan 48*) beat Netherlands 298/8 (Scott Edwards 71*, Vikramjit Singh sixty-eight, Tom Cooper 65; Naseem Shah 3-51) by sixteen runs.
Pakistan defeated the Netherlands by sixteen runs in the 1st ODI here on Tues.
Pakistan restricted the Netherlands to 298/8 in assigned fifty overs. Pakistan got off to a slow begin before posting a commanding 314-6. Left-hand opener Fakhar Zaman sculpted out a run-a-ball 109 — his seventh ODI century — whereas captain Babar Azam hit seventy-four before being caught after mistiming a delivery from Dutch paceman Logan van Beek.
Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat on a hot and steamy day at the VOC cricket ground outside the Dutch Harbour town within the 1st of a three-match series.
The home bowlers at first contained Pakistan’s batting, with the guests lost their 1st wicket, that of Imamul Haq, lbw to paceman Vivian Kingma within the sixth over for a conscientious 2 off nineteen balls.
But Zaman and Azam eventually unchained and placed on a partnership of 168 off a hundred and seventy balls before Azam was caught in an exceedingly soft dismissal when he mistimed a trial into the waiting hands of Tom
Cooper at the position. Fakhar Zaman was dismissed 2 overs later once he was bright run out by Dutch captain and wicketkeeper Scott Edwards off a pin-point correct throw by Bas De Leede at deep mid-wicket.
Pakistan looked set for a bigger total however the Dutch bowlers did well to limit them on a sluggish pitch, with the spin bowling of Aryan Dutt and Tim Pringle inflicting issues.
The Dutch let themselves down within the field and lost many catches, Kingma notably unskilled a high ball at hand Zaman a lifeline once he was on forty-three.
The three-match series is a part of ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League wherever the visiting facet occupies the fifth spot with ninety points.
Babar Azam has been on a spree of breaking records and has done an equivalent throughout the primary ODI against the Netherlands.
Babar has overtaken legendary South African batter Hashim Amla for many mixtures runs after eighty-eight ODI innings. Amla, who commands the record for an extended whereas, managed to get 4,473 runs after eighty-eight ODIs whereas the present number one batter has surpassed him after managing 4,516 runs.
It is value mentioning that no batter in the world has ever achieved this accomplishment and Babar Azam is the 1st player to try and do this.
