Thursday, October 5, 2023

Pakistan set to open their ODI CWC 2023 campaign against the plucky Dutch

Pakistan Vs Netherlands, Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad - ICC Men's CWC 2023; Match Preview

Pakistan begin their CWC 2023 campaign against the Men in Orange who lost to Sri Lanka in the CWC Qualifiers tournament final. They defeated West Indies in the super over which saw the former World Champions not even qualify for the main event this time.

Pakistan v Netherlands CWC 2023 Match Preview

Pakistan batting looks to be in ominous form if the warm up matches are to be considered. They have posted scores in excess of 330 in both the games. The openers have been out of form but Babar, Rizwan, Iftikhar, Nawaz and even the likes of Shakeel and Salman have been in imperious touch. Fakhar, Imam and Shafique have liked out of sorts though.

The Dutch batting rests on their opening pair of Vikramjit Singh and Max O'Dowd. Both are essential to their system. Barresi and De Leede shore up the middle order while skipper Scott Edwards provides the finishing touches. Edwards, especially is very good with spin, so look out for him in this World Cup. Teja Nidamanuru might also slot in for them!

Pakistani bowling, surprisingly has looked out of sorts since the recent Asia Cup and with Naseem out it wears a further depleted look. Rauf isn't picking enough wickets and Shadab isn't giving control in the middle overs. Shaheen too looks off after the opening spell. The opening match against a relatively weak Dutch team gives Pakistan time to sort their bowling woes.

Dutch bowling relies heavily on Van Beek and Van Meekeran along with De Leede. Aryan Dutt, Vikramjit Singh and the veteran Van Der Merwe provide spin options.

Key Battles: Pakistan vs Netherlands

Babar Azam Vs Roelof Van der Merwe

Vikramjit Singh and Max O'Dowd Vs Shaheen Shah Afridi

Bas de Leede Vs Haris Rauf and Shadab Khan

Pakistan have been widely tipped as one of the possible semi finalists of the CWC 2023 but they remain a highly volatile team. They were defeated by Zimbabwe in the last WT20 and the Dutch defeated South Africa in that same tournament. Netherlands have nothing to loose and they will always believe that they can take any team down on their day.

Probable Pakistan XI

Fakhar Zaman, Imam ul Haq, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel/ Agha Salman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Wasim/ Hasan Ali

Probable Netherlands XI

Vikramjit Singh, Max O'Dowd, Wesley Barresi, Bas de Leede, Colin Ackermann, Teja Nidamanuru, Scott Edwards, Logan van Beek, Paul van Meekaran, Roelof van der Merwe, Aryan Dutt

Top 5 Fantasy Picks for Pakistan v Netherlands at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad

Babar Azam

Mohammad Rizwan

Haris Rauf

Shadab Khan

Shaheen Shah Afridi

The match will start at 02.00 PM IST (streamed live on Disney plus Hotstar app & on TV on Star Sports 1)

Can Pakistan start on a winning note? Can Netherlands cause an upset?

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