Monitoring Desk
DHARAMSALA: Netherlands registered a stunning 38-run win over South Africa in a major upset of the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in Dharamsala, India, on Tuesday.
A disciplined bowling by the orange army helped their side to secure their first win of the ongoing cricket event as they faced defeat in their first two matches against Pakistan and New Zealand.
Netherlands bowled out the favourite team for 207 runs in the rain-hit match, which had been reduced to 43 overs.
South Africa were troubled by the Netherlands spinners in the first 10 overs. Quinton de Kock and Temba Bavuma fell for relatively cheap scores. Soon they lost two more wickets of Rassie van der Dussen (4) and Aiden Markram (1).
Heinrich Klaasen tried to build a middle-order partnership with David Miller to put score on board but he was dismissed for 28 by Logan van Beek.
Marco Jansen could not provide support to Miller as he was bowled out for nine. Later, Miller fell for 48, Kagiso Rabada for nine and Gerald Coetzee for 22. Tail-order player Maharaj attempted to gave a boost to total but he could not clinch victory for his side.
Logan van Beek took three wickets while Paul van Meekeren, Bas de Leede and Roelof van der Merwe claimed two scalps each.
Earlier, the start of play was marred by rain. The sides finally walked out on the field just prior to 4pm Indian Standard Time (IST) as the match was reduced to a 43-over affair.
South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma won the toss and elected to bowl first. He hoped that weather conditions might help the bowlers up front.
And he proved right as Netherlands’s opening pair Vikramjit Singh (2) and Max O’Dowd (18) were dismissed in early blows. Colin Ackermann and Bas de Leede were removed for 12 and 2, respectively.
Middle order pair Sybrand Engelbrecht (19) and Teja Nidamanuru (20) could not show impressive performance. At that time Scott Edwards held the reins and played unbeaten knock of 78 runs, helping his side to build a challenging total of 245 runs.
Lungi Ngidi, Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada took two wickets while Gerald Coetzee and Keshav Maharaj claimed one scalp each.
After overcoming Sri Lanka and Australia challenges with ease, Temba Bavuma’s South Africa look to ensure that their unbeaten run in the tournament continues against the Netherlands.
The Proteas batters have got plenty of runs, while their bowlers have been picking up wickets with ease.
Even though all seems to be going well for the side, they’ll know the value of points in long-drawn tournaments such as these. A close loss to Netherlands in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 saw the Proteas lose out on a semi-final spot.
While Bavuma’s side will look to make amends on that front, Netherlands will be keen to lift their game after losing their first two matches in India.
The Dutch are a much better side than the results show, and will be keen to prove that in Dharamsala. They’d love to take some inspiration from Afghanistan, who managed to upend higher-ranked England in their Cricket World Cup clash on Sunday.
Having lost their opening two fixtures, the Dutchmen are desperate to prove that they are not here to just make up the numbers. However, it is unlikely that the Proteas will allow them the bragging rights for a second time in two ICC events.
In the Men’s T20 World Cup last year in Australia, Netherlands stunned South Africa by 13 runs and sent the fancied side tumbling out of the competition. But Temba Bavuma’s men appear transformed this time around and have shown their pedigree by recording thumping wins over Sri Lanka and Australia.
Dharamsala is a new venue for both these sides, and they’ll look at the past results for clues. While spinners came into play in the Afghanistan-Bangladesh game, England made the most of a decent batting strip in the second contest.
Squads
Netherlands: Scott Edwards (c), Max O’Dowd, Bas de Leede, Vikram Singh, Teja Nidamanuru, Paul van Meekeren, Colin Ackermann, Roelof van der Merwe, Logan van Beek, Aryan Dutt, Ryan Klein, Wesley Barresi, Saqib Zulfiqar, Shariz Ahmad, Sybrand Engelbrecht.
South Africa: Temba Bavuma (c), Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen, Lizaad Williams.
