Star Netherlands pacer Paul van Meekeren said that, more than Pakistan winning their first match against his team at the T20 World Cup on Saturday, February 7, it was the Dutch side who lost the game, handing the match on a platter to Salman Ali Agha’s team.
Chasing a modest 148 against the Netherlands, Pakistan were cruising at 90/2 at the halfway mark before a collapse saw them slide to 114/7 in the 17th over, still needing 34 runs for a win.
At that point, Pakistan looked all but defeated, but No. 8 Faheem Ashraf had other ideas. Given a reprieve when dropped on seven, he made the Netherlands pay with an unbeaten 29 off just 11 deliveries.
With 29 required from the final two overs, Ashraf went on the attack, smashing three sixes and a four off
Logan van Beek before sealing the chase with a boundary in the last over as Pakistan finished on 148/7.
“I mean, I want to be very clear. Pakistan did not win the game today. We lost the game against ourselves. We just probably did not execute the way we wanted to. Yeah, you know, these World Cup moments, it’s small margins, sometimes one ball. But yeah, it is just a very disappointed feeling at the moment,” Van Meekeren said while speaking at the post-match press conference.
Van Meekeren added that the Netherlands were a few runs short of what would have been a winning total, but was proud of the overall effort.
“I am very proud of the guys. I think we probably did not get the runs on the board that we wanted, but to fight back after a strong start from Pakistan with the bat shows the culture that we have created in the team and they never give up,” Van Meekeren said.
The Netherlands will next play Namibia on February 10 in Delhi.
