"A promise was once made, but it was never kept" - Top 10 funny memes after Pakistan bundle out for 286 against Netherlands in 2023 ODI World Cup

Pakistan managed to post a total of 286 in the first innings of their opening match of the 2023 ODI World Cup against the Netherlands on Friday (October 6) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.

Netherlands captain Scott Edwards won the toss and opted to bowl in the contest. The Dutch stunned the Pakistan top order early with triple blows to reduce them to 38/3 inside the powerplay.

Saud Shakeel (68) and Mohammad Rizwan (68) then did the repair job with a 120-run stand. Shakeel looked in ominous touch from the onset and played authoritative strokes. Rizwan was busy at the crease, scoring briskly without taking too many risks.

Just as the duo looked to be threatening to take the game away, Netherlands bowlers made a comeback by dismissing them and Iftikhar Ahmed (9) in quick succession. Mohammad Nawaz (39) and Shadab Khan (32) played handy knocks in the lower order to push their side's total to 286.

Fans on social media enjoyed the engaging battle between bat and ball during the first innings of the encounter on Friday. They reacted to the game by sharing hilarious memes on social media platforms.

Here are some of the best reactions:

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"I think we executed well tonight" - Netherlands all-rounder Roelof van der Merwe after restricting Pakistan below 300

Speaking during the mid-innings break, veteran Netherlands all-rounder Roelof van der Merwe opined that the side's bowlers and fielders did a decent job of exerting pressure on the Pakistan batters throughout the innings.

Reflecting on the first innings, he said:

"I think we executed well tonight, we kept them under pressure with our fielding as well throughout. I think you got to look at the match-ups, Dutt bowled well up top.

"Always going to be partnerships, under the lights it gets easier to bat and a stable start should do it for us. You do get grumpier as you get older, happy with that as we fielded well and bowled well, didn't allow the big partnerships to build."

Do you think the Netherlands can cause an upset early in the 2023 ODI World Cup by chasing this total? Let us know your views in the comments section.