Following a disastrous performance in the Asia Cup, Pakistan will now shift their focus to the all-important ICC ODI World Cup. The Babar Azam-led side will hope to begin their campaign on a winning note when they take on the Netherlands in the opening fixture. The Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad will host the game on October 6. Pakistan are going into the World Cup without their first-team pacer Naseem Shah. The 20-year-old was ruled out of the tournament due to a shoulder injury sustained during an Asia Cup game against India. Despite the absence of Naseem, Pakistan look to have built a formidable pace attack, led by Shaheen Shah Afridi. Captain Babar Azam, who is the no. 1 ODI batter in the ICC rankings, will lead the batting unit.
The Netherlands are one of the two teams who featured in the ODI World Cup qualifiers. They knocked out West Indies from the campaign by beating them in the Super Six round. However, they had to surrender in front of Sri Lanka in the final and finished as the runners-up. Like hosts India, the Netherlands also missed both of their warm-up games ahead of the World Cup. The first game against Australia reached the second innings when it was called off. The other one against India was abandoned without a ball being bowled.
Pitch Report:
The wicket at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium promises to assist the batters. So we can hope for a high-scoring clash between Pakistan and the Netherlands. Despite being batting-friendly, pacers will enjoy bowling with the new ball on this surface. Spinners, however, will need to be careful about the bounce of the track. The captain winning the toss will prefer to field first and the chasing side is expected to have a higher chance of winning.
Weather Report:
The weather in Hyderabad is expected to remain mostly sunny on October 6. There is no chance of rain playing a spoilsport during the World Cup match between Pakistan and the Netherlands. The temperature could hover around 21 degrees Celsius to 32 degrees Celsius, while the humidity is anticipated to be around 53-72 percent. The wind speed will be around 8-16 km/h during the 50-over clash.
Pakistan vs Netherlands Full Squads:
Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Wasim
Netherlands: Scott Edwards (c), Max O’Dowd, Bas de Leede, Vikram Singh, Teja Nidamanuru, Paul van Meekeren, Colin Ackermann, Roelof van der Merwe, Logan van Beek, Aryan Dutt, Ryan Klein, Wesley Barresi, Saqib Zulfiqar, Shariz Ahmad, Sybrand Engelbrecht
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