(Image Source: Star Sports)
[Saba Sports News] In the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, Pakistan faced off against the Netherlands in the second match at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium on Friday, October 6th. The Netherlands won the toss and elected to have Babar Azam’s team bat first.
During the game, a technical glitch caused the digital scoreboard to vanish from the screen, leaving fans watching on TV and online frustrated as they couldn’t see the scores. Fortunately, this issue was resolved later, with commentators confirming it as a technical hiccup.
Meanwhile, when the scoreboard disappeared, Pakistan commentator Ramiz Raja humorously likened it to Pakistan’s top-order batting struggles, ‘It’s a technical issue like Pakistan’s top order.’
On the field, Pakistan had a tough start after being asked to bat first. The Netherlands, in contrast, displayed brilliance right from the beginning, dismissing Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, and Imam-ul-Haq within the opening ten overs.
Saud Shakeel and Muhammad Rizwan then led Pakistan’s innings, each scoring 68 runs. Notably, they shared a 120-run partnership for the fourth wicket, facing 114 deliveries before Shakeel was dismissed. At the 30-over mark, Pakistan, led by Babar Azam, found themselves at 170/4.
Despite Bas de Leede removing Rizwan and Iftikhar Ahmed shortly afterward, Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz’s partnership of over 50 runs for the seventh wicket revived Pakistan’s hopes.
However, Leede struck twice in the 44th over, dismissing Shadab Khan and Hasan Ali in
consecutive deliveries, securing his fourth wicket. This left Pakistan at 252/8.
Between March and July, the Netherlands had a hectic ODI schedule, including matches against Zimbabwe and South Africa, leading up to the Cricket World Cup qualifiers. Before the World Cup, they had two exhibition matches, both of which were postponed.
In contrast, Pakistan played both of their warm-up games against New Zealand and Australia, but unfortunately, they suffered losses in both matches.