At the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad, Netherlands won the toss and decided to bowl against Pakistan in the first game of the tournament for both teams. Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, and Imam-ul-Haq were all bowled out by the Netherlands in the first 10 overs, continuing a trend in which they have been effective in the powerplay in ODIs this year.
Since then, Pakistan’s innings has been stabilized by Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Rizwan. The two continued to rule the Dutch for the remainder of the first innings, finally reaching their individual half century. The second-fastest half-century by a Pakistani hitter in World Cup history was reached by Shakeel in just 32 balls.
Before Shakeel was out, the partnership added 120 runs for the fourth wicket in just 114 balls.
After that, there was a different procession, and Bas de Leede soon fired Rizwan and Iftikhar Ahmed. Prior to the stabilization efforts of Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz, Pakistan was once again in a precarious position. The two eventually scored more than 50 runs together for the seventh wicket. Pakistan eventually ran out of time and finished with a 286.
