The Netherlands defeated South Africa by 38 runs in Match 12 of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 on Tuesday, October 17 at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala, causing the tournament’s second upset.
The Dutch struggled after being given the opportunity to bat first and were left at 50/4 after 15.1 overs. However, Scott Edwards’ heroic captain’s knock helped them to a total of 245/8 in the rain-shortened 43-over game.
The Proteas’ reply didn’t go well either; after 18.5 overs, they were down at 89/5. Despite their best efforts, David Miller (43 off 52) and Keshav Maharaj (40 off 37) couldn’t save their team as South Africa was eventually bowled out for 207 in 42.5 overs. The Netherlands therefore recorded their first victory over a Test-playing nation and just their third victory in ODI World Cup history.
The key talking points from the game are as follows:
1. Scott Edwards’ courageous error
Scott Edwards, the captain of the Netherlands, scored an innings-high 78* (69) runs with the help of ten fours and a six. After his team was in difficulty at 82/5 after 20.2 overs, Edwards helped them to a respectable score of 245/8.
2. The entire Roelof van der Merwe show
During the encounter against his native nation, the former South African cricketer was on display. After a spectacular batting cameo of 29 (19), van der Merwe went on to take 2/34 in nine overs, including the wickets of Temba Bavuma and Rassie van der Dussen. The spin all-rounder made many stops inside the 30-year circle, making him a live wire on the field as well.
3. South Africa’s second straight World Cup defeat to the Netherlands
After being eliminated from the T20 World Cup 2022 after losing to the same opponents, the Dutch once again put the Proteas in a lurch. South Africa’s chase was never successful because the Dutch bowlers hunted in pairs, leaving them at 89/5 after 18.5 overs. They eventually suffered a shocking loss after being bowled out for 207 in 42.5 overs.
Losing Captain, Temba Bavuma, South Africa said:
I think we had them at 112 for 6. We shouldn’t have allowed them to go past 200. We dropped the ball there. Still we were confident with the chase. But they were able to extract some deficiencies in our batting department. We were clinical against Australia. We could have controlled the extras. The fielding wasn’t up to the standard. Not the same standard we had against Australia. We need to have some conversations with the boys. You got to let the emotion to seep in. It will hurt. Our campaign is not over by any stretch of the imagination. That was a proper display from them. They put us under pressure throughout. Good luck to them.
Winning Captain and Player of the Match, Scott Edwards, Netherlands said:
Over the last couple of games too many of our middle order batters were being out before the end of the game, so I wanted to take it deep and hope a couple of guys around me chip in and we are lucky enough to get that score in the end. He’s (Roelof van der Merwe) good fun to bat with, he runs hard and hits into some strange areas which is good fun to watch from the other end.
I just got him (Aryan Dutt) on strike and he was clearing the ropes, he’s got the talent and it’s all there to see tonight. Proud of the group. We came into the tournament where we wanted to have a chance in the semi-finals and if you wanna do that you gotta beat teams and South Africa are one of the favourites the way they are playing, so it is a good win for us.
Extremely proud. We came in with high expectations. We had very good players. Happy to get the first win out of the way. Hopefully, few more wins. We do a fair bit of research. We come up with a few matchups. Some days it works and some days it doesn’t. We were in decent positions in the first few games but then fell away. I am sure there will be plenty of fans staying up and watching this. Extremely happy with the win.
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