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Pakistan on Friday kicked off their World Cup campaign in a dominant fashion at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium here with a victory over the Netherlands.
Pakistan have never tasted defeat while defending a total of 275 or more in the ODI format. This was their 14th consecutive victory while defending a target of 275 runs or more. Put to bat first, Pakistan posted 286 on the board and Haris Rauf-led pace attack registered an 81-run victory. Halfway through the chase in the second innings, Netherlands looked comfortable in the chase maintaining a run rate of just over 5 and still holding seven wickets in their hand. Vikramjit Singh and Bas de Leede dominated Pakistan bowlers during this phase but Shadab Khan's arrival in the attack changed the complexion of the entire game. He broke the 70-run partnership by dismissing Vikramjit for 52 and on the other end Haris Rauf sent Teja Nidamanuru and skipper Scott Edwards for scores of 5 and 0 respectively. Mohammad Nawaz sent Bas de Leede back to the dugout for 67 which allowed Pakistan to take control over the game. After Leede's wicket Pakistan's victory was just a matter of time as their collective bowling effort guided them to a comfortable 81-run victory by restricting Netherlands to 205. Earlier in the innings, After Pakistan's top order which included skipper Babar Azam failed to give the 'Men in Green' an ideal start, Mohammad Rizwan and Saud Shakeel prevented their innings from falling apart with scores of 68 each. Mohammad Nawaz and Shadab Khan's cameos in the final 10 overs took Pakistan to a competitive total of 286. Brief Score: Pakistan 286 (Mohammad Rizwan 86, Saud Shakeel 86; Bas de Leede 4-62) vs Netherlands 205 (Bas de Leede 67, Vikramjit Singh 52; Haris Rauf 3-43). (ANI)
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