Pakistan’s victory over the Netherlands in Perth puts them on the World T20 stage. Pakistan completed the 92-run chase in the 14th over with four wickets lost.
In their vital Group 2 match in Perth, Pakistan’s bowlers excelled, holding the Netherlands to 91/9 and securing a six-wicket victory, their first in the T20 World Cup.
Mohammad Rizwan set the tone early with a fantastic shot down the ground while cutting the total down. His partner and captain Babar Azam didn’t have as much luck, as he was run out for four. Babar was removed three times in a row for a score of under 10 for the first time in his T20I career.
The two would subsequently start working together, Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman. The pair built a stand of 37 runs off of 31 pitches, which enabled Pakistan to advance quickly in their modest pursuit. Fakhar’s 20-run innings would be cut short by a superb diving catch by Scott Edwards behind the stumps off the bowling of Brandon Glover.
Rizwan would continue to lead Pakistan toward the goal but would fall just one run short of reaching his half-century, giving a valuable scalp to Paul van Meekeren. Even though Pakistan lost a second wicket after the scores were tied, they still had enough extra innings to secure the victory. It was Pakistan’s first victory in the competition and, more significantly, their first T20I victory ever in Australia.
Pakistan’s bowling performance was excellent.
Pakistan’s bowling performance was excellent, limiting the Netherlands to a meager total. They took full advantage of the pace and bounce that the quick Perth pitch offered. The Netherlands only managed to score 19 runs during the Powerplay against the diverse Pakistani bowling attack.
The damage was then entirely done in the middle overs by Shadab Khan, who finished his stint with outstanding figures of 3/22 in his four overs. The Netherlands struggled to stop the pace quartet of Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim, and Naseem Shah. They were also excellent.
The only batter from the Netherlands who got his eye in and played a few daring shots was Colin Ackermann (27 off 27). Mohammad Waseem would bowl two excellent yorkers in his scorching 19th over to further thwart Netherlands’ attempts to score a few significant runs.
In the end, Netherlands could only put up 91/9 in their 20 overs since Pakistan had done a good job with the ball.
