The Cricket World Cup 2023 got off to an exciting start with the first match between England and New Zealand. The action will continue in the cricket spectacular when Pakistan and the Netherlands square off in the second game of the tournament. On Friday, October 6 at 2:00 PM (IST), the two teams will square off at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
Pakistan hasn’t had the best of tournament starts; prior to the league stage, they dropped both of their exhibition games. In the first game, they were defeated by New Zealand by five wickets. In the second game, they battled hard against Australia but fell short by 14 runs.
Earlier, the Babar Azam-led team’s Asia Cup 2023 campaign also wasn’t particularly noteworthy as they were eliminated in the Super Fours round after defeats to India and Sri Lanka. Pakistan will now have the difficult task of improving as the main event approaches and making things right with their performances. They are renowned for being an unpredictable team that, on their day, may surprise the opposition by peaking at the appropriate moment.
However, because to the rain, neither of the Netherlands’ warm-up games had a winner. In the rain-shortened 23-over game, they bowled superbly to hold Australia to 166/7 in the first match. They were struggling in the second inning and had 84/6 in 14.2 overs when play was halted due to rain.
However, the Netherlands clinched their place in the 2023 World Cup with thrilling wins over Scotland and the West Indies in the Cricket World Cup Qualifiers played in Zimbabwe. The team coached by Scott Edwards will try to pull off a few surprises at the major competition and get to the semi-finals.