In the first One-Day International of the three match series, Pakistan beat Netherlands by 16 runs at Rotterdam, Holland tonight.
In reply, Netherlands could score 298 for the loss of 9 wickets in fifty overs. Netherlands had early jitters in their run-chase after Max O’Dowd and Wesley Barresi couldn’t cross single digits. Bas de Leede also fell cheaply to Mohammad Wasim Jr. From there on, Vikramjit Singh and Tom Cooper put their heads down and added 97 runs for the fourth wicket.
Both batters got out after scoring 65 runs apiece. In the death overs, the onus was on skipper Scott Edwards and van Beek to churn out the big shots. Van Beek scored a well-made 28 before pulling Haris Rauf straight down the throat of Mohammad Nawaz.
Scott Edwards stayed unbeaten on 71 off 60 with six fours and one six, but his effort went in vain. Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah picked up three wickets apiece for Pakistan. Earlier Pakistan got off to a slow start before posting a commanding 314-6 in the first one-day international against the Netherlands in Rotterdam on Tuesday.
Left-hand opener Fakhar Zaman carved out a run-a-ball 109 — his seventh ODI century — while captain Babar Azam hit 74 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 muggy day at the VOC cricket ground outside the Dutch harbour city in the first of a three-match series.
The home bowlers initially contained Pakistan’s batting, with the visitors losing their first wicket, that of dangerman Imam-ul-Haq, lbw to paceman Vivian Kingma in the sixth over for a painstaking two off 19 balls.
But Zaman and Azam eventually let loose and put on a partnership of 168 off 170 balls before Azam was caught in a soft dismissal when he mistimed a shot into the waiting hands of Tom Cooper at mid-off.
Zaman was dismissed two overs later when he was brilliantly run out by Dutch captain and wicketkeeper Scott Edwards off a pin-point accurate throw by Bas de Leede at deep mid-wicket.—Agencies
