Pakistan cricket team captain Babar Azam scored much-needed 91 runs in the third and final ODI against the Netherlands at the Hazelaarweg, Rotterdam on Sunday to help his side register a nine-run win. With this, the Men in Green whitewashed the host 3-0 in the ODI series. Babar was well supported by Naseem Shah's five-wicket haul.
Every shot the World Number 1 ODI batter played for his 91 made cricket look simple. Third consecutive half-ton for @babarazam258!
Watch the Pakistan tour of Netherlands LIVE, only on #FanCode _https:// https://t.co/Sz8Rmkkp2W @TheRealPCB @KNCBcricket
#NEDvPAK pic.twitter.com/73PuBNDsIY— FanCode (@FanCode) August 21, 2022
Chasing a target of 207, the host got off to a poor start with Max ODowd getting dismissed on three in the fifth over of the innings. Other Netherlands opener Vikramjit Singh scored 50 from 85 balls to help his side stay in the chase while no batsman from the top four could contribute. Tom Cooper came to rescue his side from batting collapse with 62 runs in 105 balls. Netherland looked in control when Cooper and Teja Nidamanuru were batting in the middle. However, Pakistan's Naseem picked wickets at regular intervals to end the host's innings on 197.
Earlier, after winning the toss, Pakistan captain Babar Azam opted to bat first, however, his decision backfired as both the openers were back in the dugout with just 58 runs on the board. Shafique was dismissed in the second over for just one while Fakhar Zaman's sluggish innings came to an end in the 18th over. The southpaw scored 26 runs in 43 balls with the help of four boundaries.
In came Babar Azam and Agha Salman who took Pakistan's score beyond the 100-run mark. Babar was looking strong at one end but he did not get ideal support from the other end. Salman was sent back on 24 while the only other notable contribution came from Nawaz who scored 27 runs. Pakistan were bundled out for 206. For the Netherlands, Bas de Leede picked a three-wicket haul while Kingma removed two Pakistani batsmen. Shariz Ahmad, van Beek and Aryan Dutt also contributed with one wicket each
