ICC T20 World Cup: Pakistan thrash Netherlands, claim first win
What's the story
Pakistan finally open their account in the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup with a one-sided victory against Netherlands at the Perth Stadium. The Men in Green successfully chased down a modest 92, thereby improving their Net Run Rate. Mohammad Rizwan (49) played a match-winning knock, while Shadab Khan took three wickets. Pakistan's chances of top four still rely upon other results.
Match
How did the match pan out?
Pakistan kept Netherlands at bay after the latter elected to bat. Netherlands scored 19/1 in the first six overs, the lowest Powerplay total of the 2022 T20 World Cup. The Dutch never got going as just two batters scored in double figures. Netherlands managed 91/9 eventually. Rizwan's defiant knock powered Pakistan's run chase. Pakistan got over the line in the 14th over (92/3).
Total
Lowest total of 2022 T20 WC
Netherlands' 91/9 is now the lowest total of the 2022 T20 World Cup (Super 12 stage). Overall, UAE's 73 against Sri Lanka in the qualifying stage tops this list. Notably, Netherlands holds the record for registering the lowest-ever T20 World Cup total. They were bundled out for 39 against Sri Lanka in the 2014 edition in Chattogram.
Powerplay
Lowest Powerplay score of 2022 T20 WC
Pakistan kept Netherlands on the backfoot after the latter elected to bat. Afridi got rid of Netherlands opener Stephan Myburgh in his second over. Although Netherlands did not lose any more wickets in the Powerplay, the batters couldn't break the shackles. Netherlands scored 19/1 in the first six overs, the lowest Powerplay total of the 2022 T20 World Cup.
Bowlers
Shadab takes three wickets
Shadab was the pick of Pakistan bowlers in the match. He took three wickets for 22 runs in four overs. Shadab has now raced to 93 wickets in T20I cricket. He averages an incredible 21.56 in the match. Wasim took two wickets in his final over. Meanwhile, Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Haris Rauf took a wicket apiece.
Information
Three-fers in successive matches
Shadab took the Dutch batting line-up by storm. He was sensational in the middle overs as Netherlands looked clueless against him. Shadab has now taken three-fers in two successive matches. He took 3/23 against Zimbabwe in the previous encounter.
Babar
Three consecutive single-digit scores for Babar
The lean patch of Pakistan skipper Babar Azam continues! Luck deserted him against Netherlands as his inning ended with a run out (4). As per Kausthub Gudipati, this is the first time Babar has recorded three consecutive single-digit scores in T20 cricket. He registered a duck against India in the opener, while he managed four against Zimbabwe.