In Perth on Sunday, Pakistan’s bowlers, headed by spinner Shadab Khan, helped them thrash the Netherlands by six wickets for their maiden victory in the Twenty20 World Cup, maintaining their tenuous chances of making it to the semi-finals.
Pakistan held the Dutch to 91-9 before cruising to 95-4 with 37 balls remaining behind Mohammad Rizwan’s 49-point performance.
However, it was the bowlers who helped a team win after they had lost to India in their opener and then been upset by Zimbabwe in Group 2.
In order to set the tone for their team’s dominance against a Dutch squad that is no longer eligible for the semifinals after losing a third consecutive Super 12 game, Shadab recorded figures of 3-22 and fast bowler Mohammad Wasim claimed two wickets.
“really content. performed very well in both batting and bowling, “After the team’s first-ever T20 triumph in Australia, Pakistan’s skipper Babar Azam made the following statement.
“I think we could pursue more successfully than this. However, winning always boosts your confidence. In the next games, we’ll aim to play our best and prevail.”
Roelof van der Merwe’s straight throw caused Pakistan to lose Azam for four runs in the second over of their chase.
However, Rizwan launched an immediate assault, scoring five fours and adding 37 with the resuming Fakhar Zaman.
Angst subsided
At a site where Pakistan fell short by one run in their pursuit of a modest 130 against Zimbabwe on Thursday, fast bowler Brandon Glover had Zaman caught behind for 20 as a crowd of over 10,000, mainly by Pakistan fans, feared the worse.
Though both fell close to the finish, Rizwan and Shan Masood’s stand of 30 soothed the nerves, and Pakistan easily surpassed their mark as bowling hero Shadab struck the decisive four.
Scott Edwards, the captain of the Netherlands, won the toss and decided to bat first. However, Pakistan’s new-ball bowlers maintained a strict line, allowing just three runs to be scored in the first two overs.
Stephan Myburgh, the returning opener, broke the deadlock with a boundary off Shaheen Shah Afridi but was out for six the next ball after being caught at fine leg when trying another huge drive.
The Pakistani fast bowlers did not let up.
Paul van Meekeren survived the hat-trick delivery from Wasim, who had taken two wickets in two balls, and Haris Rauf made effective use of the available bounce.
Bas de Leede was forced off the ground after a brutal bouncer from Rauf broke through the helmet grill, leaving him with a fractured cheek bone.
He came out from the doctor’s office to finish the game in the bench while wearing what seemed to be a terrible black eye.
After the power play, Shadab’s leg spin had Tom Cooper caught for one, and in his subsequent over, Max O’ Dowd was lbw for eight.
In county cricket, I have bowled against a handful of their guys, so I am familiar with how they operate.
“All of our bowlers had good bowls. In the powerplay, the fast bowlers applied pressure, and I got wickets as a result of the mounting pressure.”
The Netherlands skipper Edwards and Colin Ackermann (27), who had stumbled to 34-3 after 10 overs and lost De Leede due to injury, made an effort to recover with a 35-run partnership, but after they were split up, the wickets continued to fall.
Ackermann was left pinned by Shadab, and Edwards was quickly defeated by Naseem Shah for 15 points.
Van Meekeren was the last player to be run out after the last seven-point ball.
To have any chance of making it to the semifinals, Pakistan must win its two remaining matches—against South Africa on Thursday and Bangladesh the following week—and hope that other outcomes go their way.