T20 World Cup: Pakistan keep semi-final hopes alive with narrow win over Netherlands | Cricket News

PERTH: Pakistan were scrappy with the bat once again but managed to seal a six-wicket win over the Netherlands in the T20 World Cup Sunday to keep their slim semi-final hopes alive.
The Dutch found Pakistan’s world-class pace attack too hot to handle on a bowler-friendly Optus Stadium track, managing just 91 for 9 in their 20 overs.
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One of the batsmen, Bas de Leede (6) retired injured after being hit under the eye by a snorer from Harris Rauf.
The target of 92 was never going to be a problem for Pakistan, but even then it took them 13.5 overs to complete the chase with ICC’s no. 1-ranked T20 batsman Mohammed Rizwan managing 49 off 39 balls at an unimpressive strike rate of 125.64.
With Bangladesh also overpowering Zimbabwe in a thriller, Pakistan’s chances of staying alive in the tournament have increased.
Full credit for this win goes to the bowlers, who hardly put a foot wrong on the day as Shaheen Shah Afridi (1/19 in 4 innings) and Naseem Shah (1/11 in 4 innings) kept the run flow going in the Powerplay and the Dutch could never break the shackles.

Mohammed Wasim (2/15 in 3 overs) was very nimble during the back while Shadab Khan reaped the rewards of this relentless push by the speed traders with best figures of 3/10.
For the Dutch, the kind of extreme pace they encountered on the day is not something they are used to at Associate level.
It was inevitable that they couldn’t really get on top of the bowling as Powerplay overs yielded only 18 runs. It was a ball that hit the bat rather than the other way around.
De Leede got a nasty one from Rauf and was on all fours before he had to be chased off the field. One saw a large swelling under his right eye as he walked off the field.

(AP Photo)
The short ball also played into the batsmen’s psyche as Colin Ackermann’s run-a-ball 27 was their top score. The only other batter to reach double figures was captain Scott Edwards (15 from 20 balls).
Such was the dominance of the Pakistani pace attack that the Netherlands managed a cumulative total of just five boundaries in 20 overs.
While batting, Babar Azam’s (4) run out was unfortunate as he failed to beat a direct throw from former Protea spinner Roelof van der Merwe (who plays for his native country), while Fakhar Zaman (20 off 16 balls) hit three. four before Edwards took a diving catch from seamer Brandon Glover’s delivery.
But Rizwan completed the chase with minimum fuss.