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NED vs PAK 2022 | Babar Azam, Rizwan headline run-chase after Nawaz triggered Netherlands collapse


image-l6zje6goMohammad Rizwan pulls one during his unbeaten knock

Babar Azam’s Pakistan outclassed Netherlands on all counts in the second ODI to clinch the series with a game to spare. In the opening match of the tour, the ‘Men in Green’ escaped with a 16-run win in a high-scoring combat against the hosts.

Pakistan walks away with seven-wicket win in Rotterdam

Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan steadied run-chase after opening downfall

To start off, hosts Netherlands won the toss and had opted to bat first. They lost each of their top three batters within the first four overs of the match, before Bas de Leede and Tom Cooper staged a recovery mission with their 109-run stand.

Notably, the two batsmen charted fighting half-centuries in the innings despite the Dutch managing to channel just 186 upfront. The rest of the nine Netherlands batters collectively compiled just 24 runs between them, with seven extras offered into the mix by the visiting bowlers.

After Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah’s new-ball blitz had tendered the hosts top-order purposeless in the match, spinner Mohammad Nawaz strangled the middle-order with his three-fer of 10 overs.

The early stages of Pakistan’s response were filled with moments of shoddiness, as they lost both their openers for single-digit scores within the first 19 balls of the innings.

Early despair was followed by a commanding consolidation as captain Babar Azam, wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan and number five Agha Salman all cracked sparkling half-centuries in the run-chase.

With series in the pocket, the Pakistan management is likely to stage auditions in the third ODI, considering an Asia Cup is around the corner and a T20 World Cup is up for grabs this year.

Brief scores:

Netherlands: 186 (44.1)

Bas de Leede 89 (120), Tom Cooper 66 (74)
Haris Rauf 3-16, Mohammad Nawaz 3-42

Pakistan: 191-3 (33.4)

Mohammad Rizwan 69* (82), Babar Azam 57 (65)
Vivian Kingma 2-32, Aryan Dutt 1-37

Pakistan won by 7 wickets


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