Pak vs Ned: Fakhar Zaman shares how he and Babar Azam planned their superb partnership

Opener Fakhar Zaman steered Pakistan to a 16-run victory by hitting a century in the first of a three-match series Tuesday against the Netherlands in Rotterdam.

Speaking about the steady but successful partnership between him and skipper Babar Azam, Zaman said that they already knew before the toss that the pitch was moist but they decided to bat first if they won the toss.

PCB shared the small talk with Zaman on Twitter.

He said that Babar said it wouldn't be good if the team doesn't take chances and plays against the odds. He said that the skipper opted to bat first so that they encounter a tough situation and prepare for a similar situation in future.

"I think no team would take the chance to bat first on such a wicket," Zaman said.

There was no sun entire day, he added.

'Plan worked for us'

The cricketer also said that the two openers realised that they will not be able to score much due to the pitch's condition so they discussed and concluded that they can score up to 300 easily even in that condition if wickets don’t drop.

"And the plan worked for us," he said.

Zaman further stated that he has never batted in such a difficult situation.

"I would say I was lucky that day [...] that my catch also dropped."

He said that he's happy that his century lead the team to victory.

Speaking about the opponent team, Zaman said Dutch bowlers used the condition to their favour.

'Will try to defeat Netherlands with bigger margin'

Aiming to perform better in the next matches, the cricketer said the team will try to defeat Netherlands by a bigger margin.

Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat in warm and humid conditions on a day where big scores were expected on a sluggish pitch at the VOC Cricket Club outside the Dutch harbour city on Tuesday.

The tourists however got off to a slow start before posting a commanding 314-6 after 50 overs.

Zaman carved out a run-a-ball 109 while captain Babar Azam hit 74 before being caught after mistiming a delivery from Dutch paceman Logan van Beek.