Pakistan vs Netherlands LIVE, Cricket World Cup 2023: NED win toss, put PAK in to bat

Pakistan vs Netherlands Preview: Pakistan would be keen to plug their concerns and hope their star players return to form when they take on Netherlands in their World Cup opening fixture in Hyderabad.

Pakistan started with a flourish in the Asia Cup but fizzled out in the Super Fours – losing to India and Sri Lanka – and not even making the finals. Naseem Shah’s injury and absence from the tournament has been an added blow.

For Babar Azam’s men, the target will be to put those concerns to the side and improve significantly especially in the batting department. Shadab Khan and Fakhar Zaman’s poor form has gone from concerning to alarming for the team management.

The bowling, free flowing and on the mark, conceded 351 runs against Australia and 351 against New Zealand. They shouldn’t expect such a show against Netherlands but would be smart to not expect a stroll.

Netherlands, meanwhile, haven’t had any practice with both their warm-up matches washed out. It means their last complete 50 over match was three months ago. It highlights the gulf in preparation between the biggies and lower-ranked sides.

Their batting is the strong suit and if there’s a flat deck on offer in Hyderabad, they could give this already jaded Pakistan bowling a real run at the start of the World Cup.