T20 World Cup 2022: Pakistan campaign back on track after easy win over Netherlands

Match summary: Pakistan quell the Dutch challenge

With their qualification for the semifinals hanging in the balance, Pakistan produced their best performance of the T20 World Cup to defeat the Netherlands by six wickets. After restricting the Dutch to 91/9 with high pace and tricky spin, Pakistan coasted to the target in 13.5 overs for the loss of four wickets.

Mohammed Rizwan led the chase with a 39-ball 49, and Fakhar Zaman contributed 20. They added 37 runs after the early run-out of skipper Babar Azam, and the second-wicket partnership sewed up the victory.

After the Dutch chose to bat, they were at sea against the fiery pace of the Pakistan fast bowlers on the lively Perth wicket. Bas de Leede was concussed out of the game after a Haris Rauf delivery crashed onto his helmet grill. Leggie Shadab Khan capitalised on the pressure exerted by the pacers and came away with a three-wicket haul. Colin Ackermann (27) was the top scorer for the Netherlands.

Pakistan win by six wickets

Pakistan produced a clinical performance to defeat the Netherlands by six wickets with 38 balls to spare. There was tiny wobble when Mohammad Rizwan (49) and Shan Masood fell in the space of nine balls. That only delayed the win.

Masood departs

Pakistan score six-wicket win over the Netherlands, with 37 balls remaining. Pakistan have got the first points on the board after losing in-form Shan Masood when the scores were level.

Rizwan misses half-century

Rizwan missed his 23rd half-century in Twenty20 Internationals by one run after taking Pakistan closer to victory against Netherlands. The dependable opener, who also surpassed the 2,500-run mark in Twenty20, was out caught behind after scoring 49 off 39 balls. Rizwan's return to form is good news for Pakistan, who are just nine runs away from victory.

Rizwan leads Pakistan’s chase

Pakistan are coasting towards the target with ease and are 72/2 at the end of 10 overs, chasing the Netherlands’ 91. There was an alarm, when Mohammad Rizwan seemed to be caught at deep square-leg by Logan van Beek. But slow-motion displays confirmed that the ball had bounced before the catch was taken. That apart Pakistan are in no discomfort with Mohammad Rizwan leading the chase with an unbeaten 30-ball 41.

Pakistan need another 19 to win

Rizwan survives a scare after the diving catch lands in the hands of the Dutch fielder at deep square leg. Though the soft signal is out, third umpire ruled it in Rizwan's favour as the hits the ground first. After 10 overs, Pakistan are 73 for two with Rizwan on 41 and Shan Masood on 8. Pakistan need alother 19 runs to score their first win in this World Cup.

Zaman goes, but Rizwan continues

Pakistan lose their second wicket. Zaman, who injured himself while going for a run in the previous over, tried to play over the field and edged to wicketkeeper and goes for 20. Shan Masood, who is in good form in the last two matches, comes in while Rizwan keeps his scoring, hitting two fours. After 8 overs, Pakistan are 62 for two, needing only 30 more to win.

Pakistan power towards the target

Opener Mohammad Rizwan (24) leads Pakistan’s charge towards the Dutch total of 91 with a strokeful innings. The early loss of captain Babar Azam hasn’t slowed the tempo as new batsman Fakhar Zaman, who returns from an injury, has got into the groove straight away. The Dutch bowling hasn’t posed any problems to the batsmen, and Pakistan are 41/1 at the end of the powerplay (6 overs).

On target

Powerplay goes according to Pakistan's plan. Rizwan and Zaman are playing their shots to push the scores closer to the target and now the runs could come more faster. After six overs, Pakistan are 41 for one.

Rizwan and Zaman increase the tempo

Fakhar Zaman, who came in at No 3, and Mohammad Rizwan are moving swiftly towards the target. Zaman immediately increased the tempo scoring two boundaries in his first over. After four overs Pakistan are 31 for one, needing another 61 to win.

Pakistan lose Babar Azam early

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam’s poor run of scores continues as he’s out for 4. A bit unlucky. A quick single was cut short by Roelof van der Merwe’s direct hit at the bowler’s end. Superb bit of fielding, and Pakistan are 16/1 in 2 overs, chasing the Netherlands’ 91.

Midway summary: Dutch find Pakistan bowling too hot to handle

Pakistan bowlers produced their best performance of the T20 World Cup to restrict the Netherlands to 91/9 in 20 overs. The Dutch, who opted to bat first on a lively Perth wicket, struggled against the pace of Pakistan. Bas de Leede was concussed out of the game after a Hari Rauf delivery crashed onto the helmet grill. Leggie Shadab Khan did much of the damage with a three-wicket haul. Only Colin Ackermann (27) managed to bat with conviction, as it turned out to be more a matter of survival than scoring.

Pakistan strike double blow

Wasim Jr rocks in the 19th overs. Two back to back reverse swigging yorkers do the trick. First he sends Tim Pringle back to pavilion and then claimed Klasseen's wicket, who was beaten by the sheer pace and movement. Netherlands are 82-8. They will probably fail to reach the 100-run mark.

Out

Van der Merwe was beaten by the sheer pacer of Haris Rauf while trying to hit hard through the covers. He was clean bowled with an in-swinging delivery. Rauf has been firing at wickets with average speed of more than 140km/h and is too hot to handle for Dutch batter. Netherlands 74-6 in 17 overs

Netherlands lose another wicket

Dutch batting misery continues as they lost their fifth wicket. Dutch Captain Edwards was caught on long leg boundary off Naseem Shah. Netherlands 69-5 in 15.3 overs.

The Dutch fail to shift gears

The Dutch struggle against Pakistan continues; they are 68/4 at the end of 15 overs. Shadab Khan picked up his third wicket with the leg-spinner beating Colin Ackerman’s (27) reverse sweep to trap him in front. Only five boundaries have been scored so far, which sums up the Dutch’s lack of aggression against the top-class Pakistan bowling. They need to throw the bat at everything to post a total of over 100.

Out

Ackerman, who looked quite set and scored some valuable runs, got out to Shaddab while trying to play a reverse-sweep. Netherlands are 61-4 in the 15th over with Shaddab getting his third wicket for only 15 runs. Meanwhile, Netherlands have brought in a concussion substitute in. Bas de Leede is out concussed and Logan van Beek is his subsititute.

The Dutch struggle against Pakistan spin

More trouble for the Netherlands came from Pakistan spin, with leggie Shadab Khan dismissing Tom Cooper and Max O’Dowd. They couldn’t make much headway off the left-arm spin of Mohammad Nawaz and have dawdled to 43/3 in 11 overs. A fighting total looks unlikely as the Pakistan fast bowlers are back into the attack. The Perth pitch has offered plenty of bounce and carry. A sub-par total is on the cards

Pakistan bowlers strangle Dutch batters in 10 overs

Pakistani bowlers have given their best performance of this T20 World Cup in the first 10 overs of the innings. Dutch batters could score only 34 runs and lost three wickets while one player was retried hurt after getting a nasty blow while trying to pull a rising bouncer by Haris Rauf. Pakistani needs to keep the tempo to restrict Netherlands to a meagre total in order to win this match with good margin.

Pakistan strike again

Third wicket down. Shadab struck again in his second over. Max O' Dowd trapped in front of wickets - Lbw!! in the ninth over. The Netherlands are in trouble 26-3 in 9 overs

Out

Shaddab struck on first delivery of his first over. Tom Copper could not hit hard enough to clear the long on fielder Mohammed Wasim Jr, who took his second catch of the innings. Netherlands are 20-2 in 6.4 overs

Pakistan keep the Dutch on a tight leash

A very disciplined performance from the Pakistan fast bowlers have kept the Netherlands’ batters quiet. They are 19/1 at the end of the powerplay. Pakistan have claimed the wicket of opener Stephan Myburgh, who top-edged a quick, short ball from Shaheeh Shah Afridi. Bas de Leede took a nasty blow on his helmet grill, failing to connect a Haris Rauf delivery. He didn’t continue, and was replaced by Tom Cooper.

Pakistan pacers too hot for Netherlands batters

Good start by Pakistani pacers. Netherland could manage 19-1 in the first six over. Pakistani pacers today did not allow Dutch batters to score with tight line and length. Afridi, Naseem Shah, Mohammed Wasim Jr and Harif Rauf were too hot for Dutch batters to handle. They were at loss to handle fierce fast bowling spell with pace , bounce and swing at a good Perth wicket. No 3 batter Bas de Leede has retired hurt ater he was badly hit on the face while trying to pull a fast bouncer from Haris Rauf.

Out

Shaheen Shah Afridi finally got his first wicket of this T20 World Cup in his third match. Opener Myburgh caught by Mohammad Wasim Jr off Afridi. A short delivery around off, Myburgh tried to pull it away, got the top edge and the ball flies straight over the keeper's head. Wasim Jr from fine leg ran to take a good catch. Netherlands 17-1 in 4.3 overs.

A must-win match for Pakistan

Pakistan take on the Netherlands today at Perth with a must-win match. The Netherlands won the toss and elected to bat knowing that Pakistan batters are particularly not good at chasing runs. Pakistan's strengthen is their batting, after bringing in left-hander Fakhar Zaman replacing Haider Ali. They are playing with four fast bowlers and two all-rounders including Shaddab Khan and Nawaz

The Netherland win the toss and opt to bat

For Pakistan, Fakhar Zaman replaces Haider Ali.  The Dutch have made three changes to the squad with Stephan Myburgh, Brandon Glover, Roelof van der Merwe back in the team

The teams:

Pakistan: Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Shan Masood, Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah

Netherlands: MP O'Dowd, SJ Myburgh, BFW de Leede, TLW Cooper, CN Ackermann, SA Edwards, RE van der Merwe, TJG Pringle, FJ Klaassen, PA van Meekeren, BD Glover

Preview: Pakistan will pull out all stops against the Dutch

Pakistan are in such a precarious situation that they have to win all the remaining games and expect the rest of the Group 2 results to go in their favour. That makes today’s Perth encounter with the Netherlands the first of the three must-win matches.

Pakistan’s quality has never been in doubt, but their execution had erred marginally, resulting in the last-ball losses against India and Zimbabwe. They need to tweak their tactics in the game against the Dutch, starting with the powerplay. Not only do they have to step up the scoring, but they should also avoid losing wickets — a tricky proposition when the Dutch have a superb quick bowler in Paul van Meekeren.

If they negotiate the powerplay well, that will reduce the burden on the middle order, where Shan Masood has been brilliant. The bowling has been excellent, but the pacers should avoid the mistake of bowling too full on a wicket with bounce and carry. The losses would have stung Pakistan, and they will put on their best display against the Dutch.