Follow UsPakistan lost their first three wickets inside the powerplay against the Netherlands in their World Cup opener in Hyderabad and were in a spot of bother. Mohammad Rizwan, who has been in terrific form in One-Day Internationals (ODI) this year, had the responsibility of calming things down in the middle along with Saud Shakeel, who had scored just 76 runs at 19 before Friday's (October 6) match against the Netherlands.
Shakeel went on to slam 68 off just 52 deliveries and put on 120 for the fourth in quick time to resurrect the innings. That gave Pakistan a platform to post a competitive 286.
Shakeel believes coming in with an attacking mindset was key.
"Of course, there were nerves. But I was lucky that I found a few odd boundaries. Sometimes, it happens that you find such boundaries, it makes it easier for you. I was clear in my mind that I wanted to attack and play positive cricket," Shakeel said at the post-match press conference.
"Rizwan Bhai's role was to go long, but my plan was simple. I had focused on a few bowlers from the Netherlands. If I had to hit from above, I would take a chance. I did that. I took a chance. I was trying to stay positive and kept attacking the bowlers I had targeted."
In his 13 Test innings, Shakeel has hit 875 runs at 87.5, including two tons and six fifties. While he has had a successful beginning in Tests, Shakeel feels it was important for him to adapt to the 50-over format and be flexible with his batting position, given Babar Azam bats at three and Rizwan at four.
"See, when you play Test cricket, I think it is the most difficult format, you know that. So, when you perform well there, you gain a lot of confidence. I think I performed very well in the Test matches, so my confidence level was very high," Shakeel said.
"But at the same time, I was focusing a lot on my white-ball cricket. I was focusing a lot on my game. I could see that my numbers for playing for Pakistan were 5-6 [batting order]. Babar Azam plays at 3 and Rizwan plays at 4. I tried to develop my game and worked hard for it. A person has a vision and works hard for it. I tried the same.
"I could see that I am not playing much one-day cricket, not much white-ball domestic cricket in Pakistan in which I can prove my point. But at the same time, when I played Test match cricket for Sri Lanka, I showed that I am ready for white-ball cricket."
Pakistan's opening combination, especially Fakhar Zaman, has been a cause for concern for some time now. Zaman has not scored a fifty in his last 11 innings, but Pakistan have continued to back the southpaw. Shakeel reckons that it is not a concern.
"I don't think it is a big concern," Shakeel says.
"The tournament has just started, and we are playing in Hyderabad. Everyone knows that the ball stops early on here on this pitch. There are chances of losing a wicket. I don't think it is a concern. We have batted first in all the matches, so we got a chance to bat in the daytime. If it was at night, then it would have been a different scenario. I don't think there is much concern."
Netherlands all-rounder Bas de Leede, who picked up four wickets and scored a fifty, reckons his side rued giving away 20 extra runs in the death.
"Yeah, I think we started really well and then sort of allowed them to get a partnership together and credit to them they batted well throughout that period and then I think at the end in the death, we probably let them get 20 runs too many maybe and then batting wise you know same again, we put ourselves in a good position and then lost three wickets in quick time which put us on the back foot, and then it was tough to recover from that," de Leede said.
With the bat, the Dutch were well-placed at 120 for 2 in pursuit of 287, but then a flurry of wickets cost them the game and eventually went down by 81 runs.
"If you offered us to bowl Pakistan out for 280 before the game, we would have taken it," the 23-year-old said.
"And then batting-wise, 120 for 2 was obviously a good position for us. And I think it was the wickets that were our downfall. We lost Vikram [Singh], then lost Teja [Nidamanuru], then lost Scott Edwards in quite a quick couple of overs, which put us on the back foot. It's tough to then go on and put up another partnership and try and win the game."
Pakistan will be in action next against Sri Lanka on Tuesday (October 10) in Hyderabad, while the Netherlands play New Zealand at the same venue on Monday (October 9).