Pakistan is set to clash with the Netherlands in their opening match of the World Cup on Friday and despite facing recent setbacks, Pakistan’s captain Babar Azam expressed confidence that his team would commence the tournament with a victory.
Pakistan is keen to evade a repeat of their disastrous start in 2019 when they lost to the West Indies, missing out on a semi-final spot due to a low net run-rate.
In their warm-up matches, Pakistan faced defeats against New Zealand and Australia, adding to their challenges. However, Azam, the top-ranked batsman in ODI cricket, emphasized his team’s readiness for the World Cup, asserting that a winning start was crucial.
“We had good practice since our arrival and two useful warm-up games,” said Azam, who returned to form with impressive knocks of 80 and 90 in the preparatory matches.
Despite Pakistan’s dominance over the Netherlands, winning all six previous encounters, Azam warned against underestimating their opponent. The Netherlands, ranked 14th globally, fought their way into the World Cup through qualifiers alongside Sri Lanka.
Pakistan’s strategy relies heavily on their spin trio of Shadab Khan, Usama Mir, and Mohammad Nawaz, supported by part-timers Iftikhar Ahmed and Agha Salman. While they miss the injured Naseem Shah, the formidable new ball threat will be led by Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf.
The Dutch team, featuring experienced players like Wesley Barresi and key performers Bas de Leede and Logan van Beek, is determined to make a mark. Netherlands’ coach Ryan Cook expressed confidence, stating, “We’ll be putting everything we can into getting wins to take us into the semi-finals.”
Both teams are gearing up for an intense battle, with Pakistan aiming for redemption and the Netherlands eyeing surprise victories in the upcoming World Cup encounter.
