World Cup 2023 Match 2 | Pakistan Predicted XI vs Netherlands

image-lndip1a0Pakistan will play their first match of the World Cup 2023 against Netherlands (Source: AP Photos)

The 2023 Cricket World Cup has begun with a bang, and the Netherlands will face Pakistan in match two at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. This will mark the first match of both teams in the mega-event and is slated to begin at 2:00 PM IST.

After finishing second in the 2023 World Cup Qualifiers, Netherlands hardly ever played any competitive cricket. They had a camp in Alur after landing in India some nine days ahead of the tournament's inception. In a scrimmage, the Karnataka State team twice defeated them. It was followed by the World Cup warm-up games, where Scott Edwards and his team participated in two abandoned contests against Australia and India. 

For More Such Reads from OneCricket, Click Here.

Since losing to India in the Cricket World Cup 2023, Pakistan has not experienced a victory. They made a strong start to the tournament but fell short in the Super Fours, forcing them to evacuate. Additionally, the team under Babar Azam lost its exhibition games against New Zealand and Australia. They have some job to do and will look to initiate the honorary competition with a bang. 

Let us quickly scroll through the predicted XI of Pakistan against Netherlands in Match 2 of the World Cup 2023.


Openers: Imam-ul Haq and Fakhar Zaman 

Fakhar Zaman did not have a great outing in recent times with the bat in hand. But it does not discount the fact that he comes out on the top in crunch games and during ICC tournaments. An experienced, top-order batter in Zaman is likely to get the nod to open with in-form Imam-ul Haq for Pakistan. The latter did undergo a minor injury a few days back but seems fit enough to play the role of an opening batter. 


Middle Order: Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Iftikhar Ahmed

The middle prowess of Pakistan consists of two batters who are legend in the making. Undoubtedly, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan forms the wall of Pakistan batting. The skipper scored a century in recent times against Nepal in Asia Cup while Rizwan was the top run-getter for his nation in the very same competition.

The duo is likely to have the backing of Iftikhar Ahmed a bit lower down the order who has the ability to accelerate the innings at any stages of the game. The veteran had a great time with the willow in hand in the past year and is likely to start in the playing XI.


All-rounders: Saud Shakeel, Shadab Khan and Muhammad Nawaz

Saud Shakeel proved his mettle with a brilliant 75 runs knock off just 53 balls against New Zealand in the warm-up match in Hyderabad. He can also turn out with some handy finger spin along with Shadab Khan and Muhammad Nawaz. 

Shadab and Nawaz are the key all-rounders for the Men in Green and will be a pivotal part of the team throughout the tournament. Nawaz scored a fifty against Australia in the warm-up match while Shadab can be a game-changer on his day.


Bowlers: Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Hasan Ali 

Although Mohammad Wasim Jr. bowled handy amount of overs in the practice Hasan Ali may get the nod ahead of him due to the experience. He came in as a replacement to injured Naseem Shah and will look to support the pace duo of Haris Rauf and Shaheen Afridi. 

Afridi has found his form back post his injury. He was surreal with the new ball during the Men's Hundred for the Welsh Fire and transpired the good colours for his national team during the Asia Cup. His partner in crime, Haris Rauf, a speed gun will be one of the bowlers to watchout for in the tournament.