Fantasy: Good time to cash in on Babar, Imam's form

Netherlands host Pakistan for a three-match One-Day International (ODI) series, starting Tuesday (August 16) at Rotterdam. This series will be part of the ODI World Cup Super League, which is one of the pathways for direct qualification to the 2023 World Cup in India. 

The two teams will clash in an ODI for the first time since the 2003 World Cup. Overall, Pakistan and Netherlands have faced each other thrice in the 50-over format and it is the Asian side that has prevailed on all three occasions.

Ground details

Hazelaarweg, Rotterdam has witnessed just a couple of ODIs in the recent past and both of them came last year. It was a low-scoring affair that saw the team batting first register less than 200 both times. While the Dutch went on to successfully defend 163 in of those matches – in a rain-curtailed match – in the other match, Scotland chased down 173 quite easily. 

*Note: The above graph is from ODIs in the last three years

In fact, the average first innings score in Rotterdam has been 194. We could be in for another low-scoring encounter.

Overall, 72.2% of the wickets have fallen to the pacers at this venue and have struck once every 23 runs, 34.5 deliveries apart. The spinners on the other hand have picked up a wicket at an average and strike-rate of 41.7 and 63.5 respectively. Also, across the last two matches here, only six out of the 30 wickets have fallen to the spinners.

Stocking your team with some quality fast bowlers with a maximum of a spinner or two is certainly the way to go. 

We could be in for some showers and as a result, the track is sure to be covered for a considerable amount of time. Expect the fast bowlers to make a lot of inroads.

Suggested team

While you could go for the above team, you also have the option of choosing your team from Cricket.com’s Fantasy Research Centre. You can use this tool to build your team with the help of algorithms. Then, based on your preferences, the platform will guide you through creating the ideal fantasy XI.

Captaincy Suggestions

For small leagues: Imam ul Haq (c), Babar Azam (vc)

For grand leagues: Scott Edwards (c), Shadab Khan (vc)

Stats that matter

Among teams participating in the ODI Super League, Netherlands have the worst runs per wicket (22.9) and balls per wicket (28.8) in ODIs this year. They also have the worst run-rate (4.8) after Afghanistan (4.7).

Imam-ul-Haq and Babar Azam have been in scintillating form in ODIs this year. While Imam, en route his 497 runs at 99.40 has hit a score in excess of fifty in all six innings this year. His lowest score this year was 62 against West Indies in Multan.

Babar on the other hand has missed out on a fifty just once this year. He has scored 457 runs at 91.40 this year so far.

Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf have 39 wickets between them since 2021. However, with Shaheen likely to sit out as he continues his rehabilitation from a knee injury, Haris could further better his credentials.

In the absence of County contracted players like Fred Klaassen and Paul van Meekeren, Logan Van Beek could be an excellent pick. He is Netherlands’ highest wicket-taker in ODIs since 2021 with 19 wickets at 32.3. He is also a handy batter down the order, having scored 213 runs in this time period.

Grand League Punts

No player has scored more runs than Scott Edwards this year among players from countries playing in the Super League. He has scored 537 runs at 48.81 in ODIs so far this year, which include four fifties from his last five innings. Overall, the Netherlands skipper has smashed seven fifties in 12 innings this year.

Shadab Khan has picked up seven wickets at 19.9 this year and he is no mug with the bat either having hit 114 runs at a strike-rate of 104.6 in ODIs this year. Given his all-round skills, the Pakistan vice-captain could prove to be a handful for the Dutch.

Here are the Top 10 Criclytics Projections:

Probable XIs:

Netherlands: Max O'Dowd, Vikramjit Singh, Scott Edwards, Bas de Leede, Tom Cooper, Teja Nidamanuru, Logan van Beek, Ryan Klein, Tim Pringle, Vivian Kingma, Aryan Dutt.

Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Khushdil Shah, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim, Shahnawaz Dahani, Zahid Mahmood.