COLOMBO: Pakistan won the toss and chose to field against the Netherlands in the opening match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup at Colombo on Saturday.
Pakistan captain Salman Agha said the pitch looked fresh and moisture from recent rain could help the bowlers. He said the team wanted to take early advantage of the conditions.
He added that he had rarely seen a pitch with this much grass in Sri Lanka. Pakistan named a balanced side with three fast bowlers and several all-rounders.
Salman said the Netherlands were a competitive team. He said Pakistan would focus on executing its plans effectively.
Netherlands captain Scott Edwards said the pitch appeared good for batting. He said his side would have opted to bowl first if they had won the toss, but were comfortable batting first.
Edwards said the match was important, as were the other group fixtures. He added that the team had spent the last six weeks in India and Sri Lanka and had adjusted well to local conditions.
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He said the squad included several all-rounders who provided options in both batting and bowling.
Pakistan playing XI: Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Agha (captain), Babar Azam, Usman Khan (wicketkeeper), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Salman Mirza, Abrar Ahmed.
Netherlands playing XI: Michael Levitt, Max O’Dowd, Bas de Leede, Colin Ackermann, Scott Edwards (captain, wicketkeeper), Zack Lion-Cachet, Logan van Beek, Roelof van der Merwe, Aryan Dutt, Kyle Klein, Paul van Meekeren.
