Pakistan just managed to edge out Netherlands by 16 runs in the first ODI at Rotterdam on August 16. Fakhar Zaman and Naseem Shah were the stars with bat and ball, respectively.
Batting first, Pakistan lost Imam-ul-Haq early in the innings before Babar Azam and Zaman joined hands. The duo batted very cautiously, and it took them a while to change the gears. They added 168 runs for the second wicket in 28.2 overs to lay a strong platform for the latter part of the innings.
Babar scored 74 off 85 and as he looked to go big, the Pakistan skipper miscued Logan van Beek to mid-off. Fakhar, at the other end, scored a magnificent century before he was run out for a run-a-ball 109. The visitors lost their way a bit just as the time for acceleration came.
Shadab Khan then hammered an unbeaten 48 off 28 along with Agha Salman, who scored 27* off 16. The duo propelled the team past 300, although Pakistan should’ve done much better than 314/6.
Netherlands lost three wickets inside the first 13 overs before Vikramjit Singh, and Tom Cooper steadied the ship with a 97-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Vikramjit made 65 off 98 balls, while Cooper scored the same amount in just 54 balls.
After losing both the set batters, captain Scott Edwards stood up and took the target close. Both the teams were level at 267/6 at the 46th over mark. Edwards remained unbeaten on 71 off 60 balls, but some excellent work from Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf at the back end meant the Netherlands fell 16 runs short.
With this win, Pakistan bagged 10 points towards the ICC CWC Super League and moved to the fourth place, with a points tally of 100 in 16 matches. The second ODI of the series will take place at the same venue in Rotterdam on August 18.
Brief scores
Pakistan 314/6 in 50 overs (Zaman 109, Azam 74; de Leede 2/42) defeated Netherlands 298/8 in 50 overs (Edwards 71*, Cooper 65; Shah 3/51, Rauf 3/67) by 16 runs.
