ROTTERDAM: Pakistan captain Babar Azam led the way for his side with a magnificent 91 before pacers Naseem Shah and Mohammad Wasim Jr decimated the Netherlands batting lineup and powered the touring side to complete a clean sweep in the ODI series.
Set to chase a paltry 207, the Netherlands batting line-up crumbled on 197, thus handing a narrow nine-run victory to the men in green.
The home side were off to a dismal to their run chase as they lost three wickets for a mere 37 runs in the 14th over.
Left-handed opener Vikramjit Singh, however, stood firm and kept the scoreboard ticking single-handedly before running into an important 71-run partnership with Tom Cooper for the fourth wicket.
The pair appeared solid with Singh amassing his half-century before Mohammad Wasim Jr removed the former for 50. He faced 85 deliveries and smashed seven boundaries.
Following his departure, Cooper stood up for his team and kept the scoreboard ticking single-handedly while the hosts were losing wickets at a regular interval at the other end.
The right-handed batter top-scored for the side with 62 off 105 deliveries before falling to Wasim Jr in the 46th over. He smashed four boundaries in the course of his gritty knock.
The rest of the Dutch batters remained clueless in front of a strong Pakistan bowling attack as the visitors clinched the victory by nine runs in the third ODI.
Right-arm pacer Naseem led the way for Pakistan with a five-wicket haul, while Wasim Jr followed back with four wickets to his name.
Pakistan, after opting to bat first, could not pose a commendable total on the board as the touring side bowled out for a paltry 206 in the 50th over.
Batting first, the touring side was off to a dismal start as the debutant Abdullah Shafique walked back to the pavilion in the second over after scoring two.
Following his departure, left-handed opener Fakhar Zaman and skipper Babar anchored the innings with a gritty 55-run partnership for the second wicket before Logan van Beek castles the former on 26 to provide an early breakthrough to the Netherlands.
Babar then joined hands with the youngster Salman Ali Agha and added 46 runs for the third wicket before the latter fell short after attempting to go big. He scored 24 off 42 deliveries and smashed a boundary.
Pakistan then began to lose wickets at an alarming, while Babar, on the other end, held his ground firm and kept the scoreboard ticking single-handedly.
The right-handed batter top-scored for the side and led from the front with a valiant knock of 91 runs off 125 deliveries, laced with seven boundaries and two sixes.
Besides Babar, left-handed all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz remained the other significant contributor as he scored an important 27 off 45 deliveries including a boundary and two sixes.
Pakistan’s batting tail then had no answers to the Dutch bowling attack and the touring side, in the end, bowled out for a skimpy 206 in the final over.
