Pakistan managed to edge past a resilient Netherlands side in Rotterdam on Tuesday to add crucial 10 points to their tally in the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup Super League. With this win, Pakistan has overtaken New Zealand to be ranked 4th on the points table.
Pakistan currently has 100 points from 16 games whereas next-placed Afghanistan also has 100 points but with a better net run rate. England continues to occupy the top spot with 125 points followed by Bangladesh with 120 points.
Batting first, Pakistan posted 314/6 on the back of solid performances by Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam. The duo added 168 runs together as the left-hander reached his 7th ODI century (109) while the captain was classy as usual with a well-made 74. Shadab Khan and Salman Ali Agha made sure Pakistan didn’t lose the plot midway as they ended the innings on a high with cameos of their own.
In response, Netherlands batters were really impressive as they kept their team in the hunt until the last over. Fifties from Vikramjit Singh, Tom Cooper, and Scott Edwards made the match a nail-biting one, however, Pakistani bowlers prevailed in the end, handing the away side the first win of the tour by 16 runs.
Coming back to the points table, here’s how it looks as of today (August 17, 2022):
| Rank | Team | Matches | Won | Lost | Tied | No Result | Points | NRR |
| 1 | England | 18 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 125 | +1.219 |
| 2 | Bangladesh | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 120 | +0.384 |
| 3 | Afghanistan | 12 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 100 | +0.563 |
| 4 | Pakistan | 16 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100 | +0.109 |
| 5 | New Zealand | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 90 | +1.646 |
| 6 | West Indies | 21 | 8 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 80 | -0.823 |
| 7 | India | 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 79 | +0.416 |
| 8 | Australia | 12 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 70 | +0.496 |
| 9 | Ireland | 21 | 6 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 68 | -0.382 |
| 10 | Sri Lanka | 18 | 6 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 62 | -0.031 |
| 11 | South Africa | 13 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 49 | -0.206 |
| 12 | Zimbabwe | 15 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 35 | -0.924 |
| 13 | Netherlands | 17 | 2 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 25 | -1.184 |
Note here that West Indies will take on New Zealand in their CWC Super League ODI series while Pakistan will meet the Netherlands again in the second ODI on August 18.