NED vs PAK Match Prediction: Who will win today's T20 World Cup 2022 match?
Perth hasn't been kind to Babar Azam's men in the 2022 T20 World Cup, but they will have the chance to bounce back on Sunday, October 30 when a Netherlands vs Pakistan clash stands out on a triple-header.
Fresh off the ignominy of their one-run loss to Zimbabwe, Pakistan need to pull their act together at the earliest and hope that other results go their way in order to qualify for the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup. In fact, the Men in Green might not even be over their heartbreaking loss to India in their tournament opener a week ago.
The Netherlands, on the other hand, have had an underwhelming start to the Super 12 stage. They had their moments against Bangladesh but were forced to settle for a narrow defeat as the batting unit failed to deliver under pressure and were then brushed aside by a confident Indian side.
At the start of the Super 12 stage, few would've predicted that both Pakistan and the Netherlands would be without any points on the board at the time of their clash. But that's the direction in which this unpredictable T20 World Cup has headed, and the winner can, at the very least, alter the zero in their wins column.
Netherlands vs Pakistan Today Match Prediction - Who will win today's T20 World Cup match between Netherlands and Pakistan?
Pakistan's openers have been terrible in the T20 World Cup thus far, with both Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan failing in each of their first two games. Their task won't be much easier against the Netherlands, who have a bunch of canny operators in the bowling department.
Paul van Meekeren has been a particular standout with his pace, bounce and accuracy, while Tim Pringle has been superb both in the powerplay and in the middle overs. Others like Fred Klaasen and Bas de Leede have made contributions, ensuring that the Dutch are well in with a chance of restricting the Pakistan batters if they bowl to clearly defined plans.
Shan Masood's runs at No. 3 have been the only thing keeping Pakistan from total disarray, even if those runs haven't come at a great clip. The Men in Green need their openers to set a good platform for a middle order that has Haider Ali among several underperforming names.
Shaheen Shah Afridi, one of Pakistan's most important players, has been a shadow of himself in the T20 World Cup. The left-armer doesn't appear to have fully recovered from his knee injury, although Mohammad Wasim Jr's four-wicket haul in the previous game would've assuaged some of the side's concerns.
Overall, while the Netherlands can make the most of Pakistan's seeming inadaptibility to Perth, Babar and Co. should finally be able to put some points on the board. They're too talented a side to go winless for too long, although this World Cup has shown that anything can happen.
NED vs PAK Match Prediction: Pakistan to win today