In the second match of the ICC World Cup 2023, Pakistan stunned the Netherlands by a huge margin of 81 runs. The Netherlands fought hard but could not get to the victory, and their skipper Scott Edwards, expressed his disappointment after a big blow against the men in green. Scott Edwards couldn’t take the team out of the muddle during the steep run chase of 287 runs.
In the match at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, Pakistan looked in trouble as they lost quick wickets. The duo of Saud Shakeel and Rizwan helped Pakistan get the grips in the match. In the end, the Netherlands bowled out 205 in just 41 overs. In his confidence-breaking loss, skipper Scott Edwards expressed disappointment.
Pakistan’s young batter, Saud Shakeel, was picked as player of the match because of his brilliant 68 runs, which helped his team reach a winning total. Rizwan was also out on 68, and at the back end of the inning, Pakistan’s lower order played well.
While chasing a big target from Pakistan, openers looked solid at the start, but suddenly wickets kept falling. Young allrounder Bas de Leede showed some resistance with 67 runs, and he also took four wickets in the match. At the end, the chasing team could not last longer and lost the match by a huge margin of 81 runs.
Pakistan took a few wickets in the middle- Scott Edwards
During the post-match presentation, Scott Edwards praised Pakistan for playing such quality cricket and also felt bad about their loss. Scott Edwards pointed out that the target was par and he felt that they were in the game when the score was 120. Scott Edwards stated that Pakistani bowlers took crucial wickets in the middle overs phase.
“Firstly, it was a little bit disappointing. I think we bowled and fielded really well. Credit to Pakistan; they batted well in the end. We felt the total was par; we felt we were in the game when we were on 120. Captaincy is a bit about instinct. There are a lot of options out there,” said Scott Edwards.
“Bas de Leede is fantastic in all three areas of the game for us. He just needed someone to go with him. We have not spoken to van Beek; we’ll assess that and see where it goes. Probably one that got away; we were in a really good position. They just took a few wickets in the middle there,” he added.