Pakistan will take on the Netherlands in the 29th match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022. This match will be played at the Perth Stadium on Sunday.
Pakistan is currently in deep trouble, having lost their first two matches in the Super 12 stage. They are occupying the second-last position in the Group 2 points table, and not only will they need to win all of their remaining matches, but they will also need other results to go in their favor.
Netherlands’ case, however, is a bit different. Though they too have lost the first two Super 12 matches like their opposition, and are occupying the bottom place in the Group 2 points table, they can be content with the progress they have made in this competition by just making it to the Super 12.
What Have They Done So Far?
Pakistan started their campaign with a match against arch-rivals, India. After being asked to bat first, Babar Azam’s team did well to score 159 runs, and then the bowlers had a good start. However, a sublime knock from Virat Kohli took the game out of their grasp.
While that defeat was heartbreaking, the last loss against Zimbabwe was utterly disappointing for their fans. Bowling first, they conceded only 130 runs but their batting department collapsed, scoring only 129 runs in return.
The Netherlands had to feature in the first round before making it to the Super 12. In their Group A campaign, they lost against Sri Lanka, but victories against the United Arab Emirates and Namibia were enough to extend their Australian stay.
In the Super 12 phase, Scott Edwards’ team first took on Bangladesh, where they bowled brilliantly to concede only 144 runs, but then could manage only 135 runs with the bat. In the last match against India, the men in orange conceded 179 runs, while as for their batting performance, they did fairly well to score 123/9.
Head to Head Record
Pakistan and the Netherlands are not two teams who meet often in international cricket. In fact, they have met only once in the T20 format, which was back in the 2009 T20 World Cup. Batting first at Lord’s, Pakistan scored 175/5, before a Shahid Afridi four-wicket haul helped them bowl out the Netherlands for only 93.
Key Players
Shan Masood: In the likes of skipper Babar and wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan, Pakistan has many world-class batters. However, at a time when almost all of their superstars have massively underperformed, Shan Masood has emerged as the lone warrior.
Shan Masood has proven to be an unlikely hero for Pakistan
The left-handed batter has scored 96 runs in two matches, which is the most by any player from his team. He scored an unbeaten 52 against India, before playing a crucial 44-run against Zimbabwe while his compatriots lost their wickets cheaply.
Max O’Dowd: For the Netherlands team, Max O’Dowd has proven to be the trump card. With 153 runs in five matches, which have come at an average of 38.25 and a strike rate of 123.38, he is the leading run-scorer for his team.
Born in New Zealand’s Auckland, the 28-year-old had the time of his life against Sri Lanka, where he played a brilliant knock of unbeaten 71 runs. Besides that, he also played an important knock of 35 runs against Namibia.
Predicted Playing XIs
Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Babar Azam (C), Shan Masood, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman/Haider Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah.
Netherlands: Vikramjit Singh, Max O’Dowd, Bas de Leede, Colin Ackermann, Tom Cooper, Scott Edwards (C & wk), Tim Pringle, Logan van Beek, Shariz Ahmad, Fred Klaassen, Paul van Meekeren.
Prediction
Though Pakistan might be in poor form, the difference in quality between these two teams is still very big, and in a match like this, the spirited Netherlands team could be out of its depth. Hence, we have predicted Pakistan to win this match.