Pak vs Ned: Babar Azam wins hearts for tremendous innings against Netherlands

ROTTERDAM: Pakistan captain Babar Azam on Tuesday won praise from fans after he played a tremendous inning against the Netherlands during the first clash of the three-match one-day international (ODI) series at the Voetbalvereeniging Cricket Stadium in Rotterdam.

The Green Shirts’ skipper Babar Azam smashed a half-century and missed out on a hundred during the Men In Green's first one-day international (ODI) match against the Netherlands.

After Pakistan decided to bat first at the Voetbalvereeniging Cricket Stadium in Rotterdam, Babar came one down and managed to score 74 off 85 balls with the help of six fours and one six.

This is the first-ever bilateral series against the Netherlands for the Babar-led Pakistan ODI squad. Two further matches will take place on August 18 and 21.

The three-match series is part of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League where the visiting side occupies the fifth spot with 90 points. Babar’s side will be aiming to win all three matches to grab the second position in the points table.

Here's how fans reacted:

Playing XI

Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (captain), Mohammad Rizwan, Agha Salman, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah

Netherlands: Vikramjit Singh, Scott Edwards (captain), Wesley Barresi, Tom Cooper, Teja Nidamanuru, Max O'Dowd, Bas de Leede, Tim Pringle, Logan van Beek, Aryan Dutt, Vivian Kingma