In what would be the team's fifth appearance in a World Cup, Scott Edwards, the captain of the Netherlands and a hard-hitting batter, would be primarily focused on finding that elusive victory.
The Netherlands will face the former champion Pakistan in their opening encounter of the ICC World Cup 2023 on Thursday at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in this city, despite Pakistan having lost its two warm-up games against New Zealand and Australia.
Given though Babar Azam's Pakistan arrived in the city considerably earlier than other teams did when they entered India and are already accustomed with the playing environment, many cricketers felt that the circumstances were comparable to those back home.
In order for Pakistan to make an impact in its World Cup opener and have any chance of the other big names succeeding, Babar Azam must take the initiative and lead from the front.
Notably, in the two exhibition matches Pakistan played at this location, the batters appeared to be in good form, with wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan scoring a century against New Zealand and Babar once again showcasing his class, while others like Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, and Saud Shakeel displayed potential to play big knocks.
However, Pakistan's bowling, particularly in batter-friendly conditions, can be a huge issue. The playing surface for tomorrow's match is anticipated to resemble that used for the warm-up games.
This implies that Pakistan has a chance to regain its self-confidence by giving a respectable performance versus The Netherlands.
Pakistan desperately needs their pace attack to live up to its potential in order to assure a strong start. It has depth and variety.
However, head coach Ryan Cook should be hopeful that Bengaluru's pre-World Cup preparations were worthwhile.
The Netherlands' plans to assess its level of preparedness to face the competition at the World Cup were dashed when their warm-up match against India in Thiruvananthapuram was postponed.
The Netherlands lack match experience because they haven't participated in any international competition since being selected for this World Cup in July, defeating the two-time champion West Indies.
It would be the team's fifth appearance in a World Cup, and captain and hard-hitting batter Scott Edwards' main objective would be to find that elusive victory.
If the Dutch are to have a significant influence at this World Cup, a lot will depend on players like Edwards, Logan Van Beek, Paul Van Meekeran, and Bas de Leede.
