'We've seen Pakistan team is beatable': Netherlands coach's sly dig at Babar Azam's side

Netherlands head coach Ryan Cook took a sly dig at Pakistan ahead of their Super 12 match at the ongoing ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022. Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Cook said that they have already seen that the Babar Azam-led side is "beatable" and they will hope to get over the line against Pakistan this time around. Cook added that it would be great if they manage to win their upcoming encounter against the Men in Green in Perth on Sunday.  

"I think every team wants to win the game that they play. But, yeah, we've obviously seen that the Pakistan team is beatable, so that's good to know. Obviously, playing them in the World Super League not so long ago in the Netherlands has given us a lot of confidence because we came quite close in those matches. Hoping to get over the line this time. It would be great," Cook said in the pre-match press conference.

Cook's confidence in defeating Pakistan could have stemmed from the fact that Zimbabwe beat the Babar Azam-led side in their previous Super 12 match on Thursday. Cook's confidence was also influenced by the three-match ODI series that the Netherlands team played against Pakistan earlier this year. In the first two games of the series, the Netherlands almost pulled off a victory against Pakistan.

Pakistan's Campaign in T20 World Cup 2022

As far as Pakistan's ongoing T20 World Cup campaign is concerned, they are one of the two teams alongside the Netherlands who are yet to earn a point in the table. Pakistan is currently placed at the bottom of the Group 2 points table with zero wins in two matches. Pakistan lost their first match against arch-rivals India by 4 wickets, courtesy of a magnificent knock from Virat Kohli. The Men in Green lost their second match against a lower-ranked Zimbabwe by 1 run, thanks to a superb bowling performance by Sikandar Raza. 

Pakistan is currently in a tricky situation and is on the verge of getting knocked out of the ongoing T20 World Cup. Pakistan will have to win all their remaining games and hope for the results of other teams to go their way in order to make it to the semis of the competition. 

Image: ICC