🏏Cricket World Cup 2023: Match #2 - Pakistan vs Netherlands on 6 Oct

🏏ICC WC 2023: M2 - Pakistan vs Netherlands at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad on 06/10/2023 at 2 PM IST🏏

Live cricket is set to be telecast in Netherlands for the first time in four years when they play Pakistan on Friday. The team's qualification to the game's grandest event has evidently garnered some commercial interest, but what are their fans supposed to expect from the Scott Edwards' men? Or for the rest - the potential future fans - who are clueless about the game, can Netherlands put up a show in 50-over cricket, especially at a time when global discussions are on its visible near-death?

To place their situation practically, it's been nearly four months since they last played an international game. They requested and pleaded teams around the world to play against them, having already showcased their quality and fight to qualify for the World Cup despite the absence of seven key players, but to no avail.

Barring a few practice games against Karnataka, there was little match-simulation they got in preparation for their return to the global event after 12 years. To make it worse, both their World Cup warm-up games were also washed out due to rain.

The only silver lining for them is that they are up against Pakistan in their tournament opener. The quality of the opposition notwithstanding, Pakistan is the least experienced team in Indian conditions. In fact, they have never won a 50-over World Cup game in India.

While the losses in the two warm-up games would have not helped their confidence much after having endured an anti-climactic finish at the Asia Cup recently, it would have given them a fine assessment of areas of improvement on if not just that of the conditions at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, the venue of their opening contest.

For now, they are far from the team they were a month back. On the bowling front, Naseem Shah's injury has left a void that is yet to be convincingly filled. The spin attack has been blunt, and the pressure is squarely on Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf to lead the strongest aspect of their game. On the batting front, poor starts have been a concern and Fakhar Zaman's patchy form hasn't helped on bit.

For as convinced as they claim to be of their plans and combinations, Pakistan, who had audaciously resorted to naming their XIs a day ahead of the game, have already taken the traditional route for their opening fixture. But just like it's with their opposition, they wouldn't mind starting their campaign against a team that is yet to fully come to grips with the conditions. Unlike Netherlands, however, the burden for them would be the pressure to succeed from the fans.

Tag Credit: Sutapasima

Pakistan vs Netherlands Pitch Report

The pitch in Hyderabad is excellent for batting. As mentioned ahead, Pakistan played a couple of warm-up fixtures at this venue ahead of the 2023 World Cup. In both the matches, the two teams scored 300+. If Pakistan bat first, they have the potential to cross the 350-run mark.

Pakistan vs Netherlands Weather Forecast

The skies will be mostly sunny at the start of the match. As the game progresses, the weather will be partly cloudy, with the temperature hovering around 30 degrees celsius. The chances of rainfall are close to 0%.

Pitch and conditions

There was rain in Hyderabad during a warm-up game the previous week, but none is expected on Friday, with the weather expected to be hot and dry. Expect another high-scoring contest.

You know the drill. Don't forget to send your predictions in for match 2.

Toss prediction before 1:30 PM IST and rest of the predictions before 2:00 PM IST.

All the very best to everyone!

Teams:

Pakistan: While Mickey Arthur has admitted that he is clear with his plans, there are just three possible toss-ups. Fakhar Zaman & Abdullah Shafique, Saud Shakeel & Agha Salman, and Mohammad Wasim Jr & Hasan Ali. Hasan, who bowled with the new ball in the second warm-up game, didn't bowl in the nets a day ahead of the contest. They are also likely to back Fakhar to come good despite his recent struggles.

Tactics & Strategy: If there is one spin department that has fared worse than Pakistan in the current World Cup cycle, it's Netherlands' spin attack. Having conceded at an average of 53.43, Pakistan's middle order would look to dominate against them through the middle overs, a period where they have a tendency to slow down.

Likely XI: Fakhar Zaman, Imam ul Haq, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Agha Salman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf

Netherlands: With seven of their top players missing the last time they took the field in an international contest, the best of Netherlands should be available finally.

Tactics & Strategy: Fakhar Zaman was struggling against the full-pitched moving delivery early on in recent games as well as in the nets. Logan van Beek's skills could come in handy to exploit that weakness and give the team a strong kick on in the innings

Likely XI: Vikramjeet Singh, Max O'Dowd, Wesley Baressi, Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru/Colin Ackermann, Scott Edwards (c, wk), Logan van Beek, Saqib Zulfiqar, Roelof van der Merwe, Paul van Meerkeren, Aryan Dutt

Tag Credit: Sutapasima

When: Friday, October 6, 2023, 2:00 PM IST

Where: Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad

What to expect: There was very little assistance for the bowlers in the warm-up games as teams comfortably notched up scores of around the 350-run mark (even as the quality of bowling and fielding was far from its peak). While totals would be expected to be slightly lesser, 350 may not necessarily be a safe score.

Pakistan brace for Netherlands challenge amid form, injury and off-field concerns

An opening Pakistan game at a World Cup is usually a bustling affair, but Friday's contest at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium is unlikely to be played to a packed house

After years of will-they-won't-they, months of administrative bickering and weeks of visa uncertainties, the moment has finally arrived. Pakistan will take to the field in a World Cup match in India, Hyderabad the somewhat unassuming venue, Netherlands the slightly inauspicious opponents. It's a gentle start rather than an explosive one, but it's a start nonetheless, between a side that at times felt like it didn't really want to come to India, and one that would have done absolutely anything to be here.

An opening Pakistan game at a World Cup is usually a bustling affair, though this one at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium is unlikely to be played to a packed house. With the ticketing rollout little short of shambolic, and almost all Pakistani citizens still waiting on their visas, the crowd may lack some of the atmosphere Pakistan games usually play out to. But it's a city where they were made to feel extremely welcome, and they enjoyed warm support from the locals in the warm-up match against Australia. Pakistan won't be in town too often, let's be honest, so the opportunity to watch the likes of Babar Azam or Shaheen Shah Afridi in the flesh is difficult to scoff at.

What they said:

The quality of the players that we have in those positions is undoubted. So, it's about making sure that those guys are in a great space technically, they're in a great space mentally, and then just hopefully that they click tomorrow and then from there the confidence just grows and grows and grows. So, I've got no worry around the skills of the players we have. The skills there are exceptional - Mickey Arthur, Pakistan's Director of Cricket, on the form of the spinners.

We want to make the semi-finals. You know, if we want to get there, we've got to win four or five games. So, we'd have to take down one of the big teams - Bas de Leede on what Netherlands target to achieve at this World Cup.

In the spotlight

There is truly only one man in this conversation. No one has the gaze of a quarter of a billion people fixed quite so forensically on them as Shadab Khan in this Pakistan side. The vice-captain's indifferent form, particularly with the ball, and especially in this format, have seen once-unthinkable calls for his omission from the starting line-up.

A poor Asia Cup saw him concede 218 runs in 35 overs at 109 per wicket in his last four matches, and he was similarly ineffective in the warm-up game against Australia. With little by way of runs to compensate either, Usama Mir's legspin stock has risen over the past few weeks. While Shadab's place shouldn't be in danger against the Netherlands, his performance might well determine if that remains the case as the World Cup goes on.

The defining image of the last Netherlands-Pakistan match in Perth last year featured Haris Rauf asking after Bas de Leede's health after a bouncer from the bowler had given him a concussion and a nasty cut under the eye. "Go well," Haris had said then, and de Leede has done just that. A few months earlier, he had sparkled during an ODI between the two sides in Rotterdam, narrowly missing out on a century. But it was in the qualifiers for this World Cup that he really shone, scores of 41, 33, 41, 39 and a stunning 116-ball 123 catapulting his side towards the World Cup. That remains the last ODI he played, and a year out from that unfortunate Perth encounter, he has the opportunity to show how well he's going.

PAK vs NED Head-to-head stats and records you need to know before Pakistan vs Netherlands 2023 World Cup match

Here's a short summary of the last five ODI matches between Pakistan vs Netherlands.

1. PAK (206) beat NED (197) by 9 runs, Aug 21, 2022
2. PAK (191/3) beat NED (186) by 7 wickets, Aug 18, 2022
3. PAK (314/6) beat NED (298/8) by 16 runs, Aug 16, 2022
4. PAK (253/9) beat NED (156) by 97 runs, Feb 25, 2003
5. PAK (142/1) beat NED (136) by 9 wickets, Sep 21, 2002

Stats and trivia

• Babar Azam is 26 runs away from becoming the first active Pakistan batter to make 500 ODI World Cup runs.
• Pakistan have lost the first World Cup match at the last two tournaments, and four of the last five.
• Netherlands have won just two of their 15 World Cup matches, their last success coming in 2007 against Scotland.