Pakistan and Netherlands will be up against each other in their Cricket World Cup 2023 opening contest to be played at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium In Hyderabad. Botth the teams have spent a considerable amount of time in the city and should be well-versed with the conditions. Pakistan cannot afford to take associate nation Netherlands lightly in the tournament. The Scott Edwards-led side can pack a punch on their day. They played superb cricket in the World Cup Qualifiers in June to book their spot in the ten team event.
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The Netherlands match serves a nice opportunity for Pakistan to zero in on their playing 11 for the bigger matches in the tournament ahead. One of the major concerns for them is their top-order battting. Imam-ul-Haq and Fakhar Zaman have been in poor form. They did not even click in the warm-ups which is a huge concern for the Pakistan management. The other worry for the Pakistani team is the form of their spinners. The leading spinner Shadab Khan is terribly out of form. Mohammad Nawaz and Usama Mir are not that much experienced. Pakistan will hope that Shadab hits good form in the World Cup otherwise handling the middle overs could turn out to be a huge worry for the Men In Green.
It is also true that Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have sent a the most inexperienced side to a World Cup in the history of the tournament. In fact, Pakistan is the second least experienced team in the tournament, with only Babar Azam having featured in 100-plus ODIs.
Getting set for Game Day! _
One sleep away __ https://t.co/KzesEHoWTv#CWC23 | #DattKePakistani | #WeHaveWeWill pic.twitter.com/sSyPH7rHOm
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) October 5, 2023
The strength of the Pakistan outfit, as confirmed by captain Babar, is their pace bowling department. Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf will hold cards. Pakistan are surely going to miss Naseem Shah, who was their opening bowler in the ODIs. Naseem’s ability to swing the ball both the ways will be dearly missed in the World Cup. Babar will have to decide between Mohammad Wasim Jr and Hasan Ali for the third pacer’s spot in the Netherlands match.
The Netherlands are quite upbeat about their chances and have come to World Cup to seal a spot in the semi-finals. “We want to make the semi-finals. You know, if we want to get there, we’ve got to win four or five games. So, we’d have to take down one of the big teams,” said Bas de Leede on what Netherlands target to achieve at this World Cup.
Hyderabad Weather news ahead of Pakistan Vs Netherlands World Cup match
The good news for the Pakistan and Netherlands team and fans and all fans in general is that there is no chance of rain in Hyderabad on Friday, October 6. As per Accuweather app, the probablity of rain from 2 pm IST to 11 pm IST is zero. The challenge for the players from both the sides will be to play in the heat. It is going to stay mostly sunny in the day time. Humidity will play a big role too. Especially in the evening, the humidity is going to trouble the players.