Pakistan vs Netherlands LIVE: Result and reaction as Rauf takes three wickets and Babar Azam’s side win

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NEW BALL. Aryan Dutt to Fakhar Zaman. Off break length ball, outside off stump on the front foot defending, missed for no runs, fielded by Edwards.

Scott Edwards has decided that his side will have a bowl first.

Here are a look at the teams:

Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf.

Netherlands: Vikramjit Singh, Max O’Dowd, Colin Ackermann, Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Scott Edwards (c & wk), Saqib Zulfiqar, Logan van Beek, Roelof van der Merwe, Aryan Dutt, Paul van Meekeren.

Pakistan’s captain Babar Azam acknowledged the generous hospitality his side received in India ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, despite controversy over the players’ visas to enter the host country.

Azam talked about the last few days he and the Pakistan team have spent in India at the Captains’ Day event at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium on Wednesday, on the eve of the 2023 cricket tournament.

He said that after his team landed in Hyderabad city, it did “not feel like we are in India; it was like we are at home”. The Pakistani skipper also said on Instagram that his team was left “overwhelmed with the love and support” they received in the city from the Indian public.

Read more of the captain’s thoughts below:

Their opposition, meanwhile, make their first appearance in the tournament since 2015. They have appeared in four tournaments (1996, 2003, 2007, 2011) but have never managed to make it past the group stages. A new and exciting squad arrives in India but the associate nation still have plenty on their plate if they are to upset the odds in this round-robin group-stage format.

Having won the tournament in 1992, Pakistan have since failed to reach the final in the following seven editions. They reached the semi-finals in 2011 and the quarter-finals in 2015 but were knocked out in the group stages in England four years ago.

They are often an unpredictable side - what can they produce this time around?

While we don’t know Pakistan’s starting line-up for this game, we do know their squad for the tournament. The notable absentee is the exciting, fast bowler Naseem Shah who sustained a problematic shoulder injury in the Asia Cup that will see him miss the tournament.

Take a look at their full squad for the tournament:

“The players have embraced it. It’s going to take a little bit of time, but I always say there’s always two ways to skin a cat,” Arthur, who was in charge of Pakistan as coach from 2016 to 2019 before returning in April, told reporters.

“Our bowling attack is up there as one of the best and with runs on the board our bowlers can generally defend that. You watch England and Australia playing this brand of cricket. Our guys will follow that.

“There’s no doubt about that. They’re good enough to do that. But we’re playing a brand that we call the Pakistan way. We’re playing a brand that’s very particular to Pakistan and suits our team dynamic. That’s a brand that we’re going to hopefully win the World Cup with.”

The 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup will get underway on 5 October with trophy-holders England taking on New Zealand at the 134,000-capacity stadium in Ahmedabad.

The first match will see a repeat of the thrilling super-over final in 2019 which England won at Lord’s on the final ball. It was a final that few could forget, and it was England who won their first ever 50-over World Cup title.

India are one of the favourites as tournament hosts, despite having not won the trophy for over a decade – in fact they did not make the final in either of the last two tournaments. Their first match will be worth the wait of an extra few days when they take on Australia on 8 October in Chennai.

Teams will be announced at the toss