Credit: Twitter
Pakistani fast bowler Haris Rauf got into a verbal spat with the Netherlands' fast bowler Paul Van Meekeren before dismissing him to win the Men in Green their first match of the ICC ODI World Cup 2023. Despite being heavy favourites, Pakistan were under pressure after a poor start with the bat but managed to claw back to score 286 runs.
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Then in the second innings, the Dutch started off well with the bat but lost their ways as the Pakistani fast bowlers tormented the lower order and put the 1992 champions in the driving seat. But in the 39th over, Rauf and Van Meekeren got into a war of words as the Dutch scored a boundary through the offside.
Fast-forwarding to the 41st over, Haris Rauf exacted revenge as he cleaned up Van Meekeren with an incredible delivery that uprooted the leg stump. Celebrating the wicket, Rauf taunted the Dutch bowler as Pakistan sealed an 81-run win.
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After the match, Pakistani batter Saud Shakeel was given the Player of the Match for his 68 in 52 balls. Talking about his performance, Shakeel said, "Tried to be positive and score runs for the team. Nerves were there, we lost 3 wickets but I was fortunate enough to get early boundaries. We knew the pressure would go back to them if we got a start."
"I think for the last 2-3 months I’ve been playing hard, I knew I’d bat number 5 for Pakistan and have been developing my shots according to that - sweeps and reverse sweeps. Thanks to the crowd as well, and I want to thank my coach as well for helping me out," he added.
