The ICC Cricket World Cup in India continues to throw up surprises as the Netherlands defeated Bangladesh by 87 runs with a convincing performance in Eden Gardens. Skipper Scott Edwards played the rescue act again as he pulled his team from the abyss with a knock of 68 runs pulling the team to 229. The Bangladesh batters disappointed their traveling fans as they crumbled like a pack of cards against a persisting Netherlands bowling attack eventually getting bowled out for a paltry 142.
The loss meant that Bangladesh’s campaign had ended with their semi-final hopes all but over, in hindsight, the Dutch have added another famous victory to their chest showcasing a jump in their quality. Paul Van Meekren was adjudged the Man of the Match for his rambling performance against the Bangladesh batting which failed to produce any significant contributions to the dismay of their fans, who had flown in from Dhaka.
Bowling first Bangladesh pacers Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful Islam reduced the Netherlands to 4-2 inside 3 overs. Wesley Barresi, playing his second ODI World Cup steadied the innings with a run-a-ball 41 showing his authority over the Bangladesh bowlers. Mustafizur Rahman tossed one off-cutter to Barressi who skied it to Shakib Al Hasan. Netherlands skipper Scott Edwards had his life extended twice before he even got off the mark – first at gulley and soon behind the stumps.
Scott Edwards made the opponents pay as he scored a calculated fifty off 77 balls along with a partnership of 78 runs with Sybert Engelbrecht. Mustafizur came back into the attack to dismiss Scott Edwards for a well-played 68. Engelbrecht was dismissed in the very next over, and the Netherlands seemed to lose their way. A 23-run cameo from Logan van Beek took the Netherlands past 200 before they were bowled out for 229 in the final ball of the innings.
The Netherlands were disciplined with the ball early on, and the early introduction of spin got them rewards as Aryan Dutt dismissed Litton Das in his first over. Tanzid Hasan followed his opening partner as he fell to Van Beek in the very next over. Mehidy Hasan and Najmul Shanto played some big shots until Shanto perished on a Van Meekren delivery combined with tactical field placements. Van Meekren soon castled skipper Shakib Al Hasan with a ball on the fourth stump exploiting the batter’s weakness.
The carnage continued as the Netherlands outplayed their more experienced opponents across all aspects reducing them to 70-6. Mahmudullah and Mahedi Hasan batted for another 10 overs albeit runs dried up, as the Dutch bowlers bowled tight lines to create pressure. Mahedi Hasan was run out as a result of an excellent piece of fielding, and Mahmudullah followed. The tail-enders could only do so much as Bangladesh were bowled out for 142, giving Netherlands an 87-run victory.
We were saying if we could get 220 plus, we were in the game. The bottom order guys got us to a very competitive total. The bowlers have been awesome. Aryan, Colin, Bas everyone. We have been superb on the field. Bit of everything – Scott Edwards
The Netherlands skipper Scott Edwards was speaking in the post-match presentation and sounded proud about his team’s performance. He elaborated on how cricket is getting more professional in their country and that their standards have increased by a lot over the years.
” We have been superb on the field. Bit of everything. The system is getting more professional in Netherlands. We train incredibly hard. We always spoke at the start of the tournament that we aim for the semis. That remains our goal but we have a few tough games coming up.” said Scott Edwards