The Netherlands created history in the ICC World Cup by beating an informed and dangerous-looking South Africa. The assassinated nation beat South Africa by 38 runs while defending 245 runs. On the confidence-breaking loss, Temba Bavuma defends his batting array and gives a defensive statement.
The Netherlands played out-of-the-box stuff to beat South Africa. First, they came back with the bat very bravely, and then they successfully defended 245 on the batting surface of Dharamsala. They just outplayed the opposition with a clinical performance.
Before the match, no one was expecting that fight from the Netherlands because the brand of cricket South Africa played in the first two matches was phenomenal. The match was reduced to 43 overs due to rain. While batting, the first teams lost top order soon, struggling till the 25 overs of the inning when they were 112 for 6.
Skipper Scott Edwards took charge and played a captain’s knock of 78 in 69 balls; the lower order also contributed at the end to put 244 on the board.
It was looking like an easy chase for the chasing side, but exactly the opposite happened as South Africa lost quick wickets. They never got the momentum in the inning, and they ended up being bowled out on 207. David Miller looked good but could not take his team to victory.
In the post-match presentation, skipper Temba Bavuma expressed that they shouldn’t have allowed them to go past 200:
“I think we had them at 112 for 6 wickets. We should not have allowed them to pass 200. We dropped the ball there. Still, we were confident in the chase. But they were able to extract some deficiencies in our batting. We were clinical against Australia. We could have controlled the extras,” said Temba Bavuma.
He also talked about their fielding and wished the opposition good luck.
“The fielding wasn’t up to standard. Not the same standard that we had against Australians. We need to have some conversations with the guys. You have to let the emotion seep in. It will surely hurt. Our campaign is not over. That was a proper display from them. They put us under pressure throughout the tournament. Good luck to them,” he added.
Also Read: NED vs SA: Netherlands Stun South Africa At Dharamsala With A 38-Run Win