HCA: International Tournaments in Hyderabad: 2023-24
ICC WORLD CUP GAME - HYDERABAD

PAKISAN v NETHERLANDS

PREVIEW

The 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup match 2, Pakistan vs Netherlands at the RGICS in Hyderabad

Pakistan was part of the ICC World Cup right from its inception in 1975. They semi finalists in 1983 where they lost to the then mighty West Indies. In 1987 and 1992 they reached the semi finals eventually losing to West Indies and Australia respectively. In 1992 World up in Australia, Pakistan won by defeating England by 22 runs. Ion 1996 edition Pakistan lost to India in QFs. In 1999 World Cup Pakistan lost at super six stage. In 2003 edition of World Cup Pakistan did not clear the super six stage. 2007 edition of the World Cup in West Indies was a tragedy for both India and Pakistan as both failed to reach the super six stage. In 2011 World Cup Pakistan lost in the semi finals to India, who became the Champions of that edition. The 2015 edition of the World Cup saw Pakistan lose to Australia in the QFs.

The Netherlands participated in the 1996, 2003, 2007 and 2011 World Cups. Their best finish came in 2007 when they finished 12/16 at the group stage and registered a win in the tournament. In Netherlands' last ICC World Cup appearance, they were eliminated at the group stage. This time the Dutch performed exceptionally well to qualify for the fourth ODI World. The Scott Edwards-led side in the 2023 World Cup Qualifiers defeated higher-ranking sides of Ireland, Zimbabwe, and the West Indies and reached the mega event in India.

At the top of the order, Vikramjit Singh and Max O'Dowd did the bulk of the scoring during the qualifiers in Zimbabwe and will be expected to provide similar starts. Their batting has been strengthened with the return of Colin Ackermann, and he will be accompanied by Teja Nidamanuru and Wesley Barresi in the middle order. Star all-rounder Bas de Leede has been instrumental with both bat and ball and will be the player to watch out for in the Netherlands side. The way Scott Edwards has been leading his troops has been impressive, and he will don the gloves for the Netherlands. Options galore in the spin department for the Associate nation, with the presence of Roelof van der Merwe, Aryan Dutt, Shariz Ahmad, and Saqib Zutfiqar. Their pace attack sees the return of the experienced Paul van Meekeren, while the ever-reliable Logan van Beek will be seen setting the tone with the new ball.

Pakistan Team in recent times have not performed to their potential. They failed to reach the finals of Asia Cup 2023. They lost both their warm-up matches against New Zealand and Australia convincingly despite scoring over 300+ runs against both sides. The only positive aspect of Pakistan side was return of form for Babar Azam and Shadab Khan. The loss of Nasim Shah’s bowling will be felt by the team in forthcoming matches.