World Cup 2023: Netherlands will take learnings from Pakistan defeat, says Bas de Leede

The Netherlands lost their ODI World Cup opener against Pakistan on 6 October, Friday. Playing at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, Netherlands failed to chase down 286 runs against the Babar Azam side.

Speaking after the match, Netherlands all-rounder Bas de Leede spoke about taking learnings from the loss and using it in the later stages of the tournament. The all-rounder said that it was good for them to play a quality bowling attack as Pakistan early in the tournament and it would set them up for the later matches in the event.

“I think every team in this competition has a quality bowling attack, so I’m sure it probably is a mixture of coming up with a game plan and prepare for that. Obviously, you’ve got Henry at the start who’s been excellent and then Trent Boult, similar to Shaheen probably. Lockie Ferguson probably similar to Haris Rauf. So, a lot of similarities, but I think we’ll take our learnings from this game and then try and adapt for next game,” Bas de Leede spoke about Netherlands’ next match against New Zealand.

The Netherlands had taken an early lead in the game, removing the Pakistan top order in just 10 overs, however, half-centuries from Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Rizwan guided Pakistan to 286 runs in 49 overs. The Netherlands’ bowler, Bas de Leede, managed to take four wickets, but it wasn’t enough to halt Pakistan’s momentum.

In response, the Netherlands failed to put up a good fight. Barring Bas de Leede and Vikramjit Singh, no one showed up from the batting department. The Netherlands’ batting line-up collapsed from 120 for 3 to 158 for 6, and eventually, they were all out for 205 in 41 overs, falling short by 81 runs.

Pakistan’s bowling attack, led by Haris Rauf and Hasan Ali, proved too potent for the Dutch batsmen. Rauf, who has been a top performer in the ODI format since 2021, continued his excellent form. The Netherlands’ tail-enders tried to resist, with Logan van Beek hitting a few powerful shots towards the end, but it was not enough to turn the tide.

The all-rounder also spoke about playing spin in India and said that he had spoken to players with experience and hopefully will use them as they pitches start getting tired deeper into the tournament.

“Well, before I went to India, I spoke to a couple of people that have experience here and asked them what they think overseas batters needed to do to succeed against spin in India. So, I think from then on, I tried to pick line and length up a bit quicker than I’m probably used to. And just stuff like that. And it’s probably also thinking about a game plan before the game, talking to the coaches, that helps a lot,” de Leede said.