COLOMBO: The Netherlands came close to a major upset before Faheem Ashraf’s late cameo steered Pakistan to a tense three-wicket victory in their Group A match at the Twenty20 World Cup on Saturday.Put in to bat, the Dutch were bowled out for 147 with one ball remaining at Colombo’s Sinhalese Sports Club Ground.
They then mounted a spirited defence, but a dropped catch proved costly as Faheem smashed an unbeaten 29 off 11 balls to seal the win with three deliveries to spare.“They managed to pull wickets down and the pressure came in,” a visibly relieved Pakistan captain Salman Agha said.
“Credit to Faheem, the way he batted.”Pakistan, who have little margin for error in their bid to reach the Super 8 stage after boycotting their group match against arch-rivals India, made heavy weather of a modest chase. The outcome could have been different had Max O’Dowd held a catch offered by Faheem late in the innings.
Earlier, the Netherlands reached 100 in the 13th over but faltered at the death, losing six wickets for 20 runs in the final 24 balls. Openers O’Dowd and Michael Levitt fell in successive overs, but the middle order kept the innings afloat through contributions from Bas de Leede (30), Colin Ackermann (20) and captain Scott Edwards (37).
Pakistan spinner Saim Ayub struck twice in the 17th over, while Salman Mirza finished with 3-24 after taking two wickets in the final over to restrict the Dutch to a below-par total.Ayub then made a brisk 24, hitting four fours and a six at the start of Pakistan’s chase, but Dutch spinner Aryan Dutta removed him and skipper Salman Agha in successive overs to keep the contest alive.
