Pakistan is playing the Netherlands in their ICC World Cup 2023 opener at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad, India on Friday.
The Green Shirts made fans remember the old days as their top order, which consisted of Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq and skipper Babar Azam, failed considerably.
Pakistan lost openers Zaman (12) and Imam (15), along with Azam (5), in the first 10 overs with less than 50 runs on the board.
After losing three important wickets, the Men in Green were sure to struggle but Mohammad Rizwan and Saud Shakeel built an astounding 120-run partnership to give their side a much-needed breakthrough.
Saud had a staggering World Cup debut as he scored an important knock of 68 runs off 52, which included 10 boundaries, with an impressive 130.77 strike rate.
Saud was praised by the cricket fraternity for his match-saving knock, especially by ex and current cricketers.
Here is how fans and cricketing personalities reacted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Saud's performance did not come out of the blue, the left-handed batter also showed glimpses of what he is capable of during Pakistan's warm-up match against New Zealand where he scored 75 off 53 with nine boundaries.
It must be noted that the Netherlands sent Pakistan in to bat in their World Cup clash in Hyderabad on Friday after skipper Scott Edwards won the toss.
Pakistan picked two frontline spinners in Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz alongside fast bowlers Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf and Hasan Ali.
The Netherlands, the only Associate side in the World Cup, have Roelof van der Merwe, Aryan Dutt, and Saqib Zulfiqar as their spin options.
Teams:
Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (captain), Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf
Netherlands: Vikramjit Singh, Max O´Dowd, Colin Ackermann, Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Scott Edwards (captain), Saqib Zulfiqar, Logan van Beek, Roelof van der Merwe, Aryan Dutt, Paul van Meekeren