Pakistan pulverise Dutchmen

Netherlands 145-7 Pakistan 151-2 (Pakistan win by 8 wickets)

Waqar Younis was back to his menacing best as he bowled Pakistan to their second World Cup victory in the space of three days yesterday.

The former Surrey player, who was named man of the match, took 4 for 26 as the Netherlands were restricted to 145 for 7 from 50 overs in the Group B game in Lahore.

Saeed Anwar then scored an unbeaten 83 as the defending champions reached their target with eight wickets and 19.2 overs to spare.

Waqar removed Peter Cantrell for 17 and Tim de Leede for a duck in the space of three balls before he was rested with the Netherlands in terrible trouble at 29 for 3. The Dutch then staged something of a rally with Klaas Noortwijk (33) and the 43-year-old Flavian Oponso taking the total to 102 before Noortwijk skied Aqib Javed to Somerset's Mustaq Ahmed deep in the covers.

The left-hander Oponso top-scored with 58, including a six and three fours, before Waqar knocked out his leg stump with his inswinging yorker.

Waqar took his final wicket when he bowled the acting captain Roland Lefebvre, of Glamorgan, for 10, confirming he was back to his best after an indifferent tour of Australia and New Zealand.

Aqib backed up the front-line bowlers well, capturing 2 for 25 from nine overs, and the fielding, often Pakistan's weak point, was sharp and sure.

(Netherlands won toss)

NETHERLANDS

N Clarke c Rashid Latif b Aqib 4

P E Cantrell c Ijaz Ahmed b Waqar Younis 17

T de Leede c Rashid Latif b Waqar Younis 0

K J van Noortwijk c Mushtaq b Aqib 33

F Aponso b Waqar Younis 58

*R P Lefebrve b Waqar Younis 10

B Zuiderent run out 6

E Gouka not out 0

Extras (lb7, w4, nb6) 17

Total (for 7, 50 overs) 145

Fall: 1-16, 2-28, 3-29, 4-102, 5-130, 6-143, 7-145.

Did not bat: F Jansen, M Schewe, P J Bakker.

Bowling: Wasim Akram 10-1-30-0; Waqar Younis 10-1-26-4; Aqib Javed 9- 2-25-2; Mushtaq Ahmed 10-2-27-0; Aamir Sohail 9-0-21-0; Salim Malik 2- 0-9-0.

PAKISTAN

Aamir Sohail c Jansen b Lefebrve 9

Saeed Anwar not out 83

Ijaz Ahmed c Lefebrve b Cantrell 39

Inzamam-ul-Haq not out 18

Extras (lb1, w1) 2

Total (for 2, 30.4 overs) 151

Fall: 1-10, 2-104.

Did not bat: Salim Malik, Javed Miandad, Rashid Latif, *Wasim Akram, Mushtaq Ahmed, Waqar Younis, Aqib Javed.

Bowling: Lefebrve 7-1-20-1; Bakker 7-1-13-0; Jansen 2-0-22-0; de Leede 4-0-20-0; Aponso 5-0-38-0; Cantrell 4-0-18-1; Gouka 1.4-0-19-0.

Umpires: K T Francis and S A Bucknor.