T20 World Cup: Bas de Leede's all-round blitz helps Netherlands beat Namibia in low-scoring thriller
Bas De Leede's all-round blitz helps Netherlands beat Namibia in T20 WC
Netherlands beat Namibia in a low-scoring thriller during the qualifying round of the T20 World Cup 2022 edition, in Australia, on Tuesday (October 18). After a hard-fought win over UAE in their first game, Netherlands faced a high-spirited Namibia, who beat Sri Lanka in their opening fixture.
Opting to bat first, at the Simonds Stadium, Geelong, the Namibian inning didn't find the any kind of momentum.Courtesy of Jan Frylinck (43) and some contributions from the likes of Michael van Lingen, Stephan Baard, skipper GerhardErasmus and David Wiese's 5-ball 11 not out, they managed a paltry score of 121 for 6 in 20 overs. From Netherlands' perspective, Bas de Leede accounted for 2 for 18 whereas Tim Pringle, Colin Ackermann, Paul van Meekeren and Roelof van der Merwe chipped in with a wicket each.
In reply, Netherlands' top three adapted to the nature of the surface and their vital knocks led their side to a thriling five-wicket win, with three balls to spare. Max ODowd (35), Vikramjit Singh (39) and Bas de Leede's run-a-ball 30 not out ensured their side beat Namibia to move closer to the Super 12 round of the competition in Australia.
While JJ Smit took 2 for 24 and opened the contest, Namibia batters' dismal showing led to their defeat.
What they said:
Bas De Leede | POTM: I think I could take a bit of experience from two days ago. We lost wickets at the end, we had to deal with it. We lostwickets at bad times. We can't afford to do that and we can learn from that as a team. The self belief has always been there and it's nice to win two tight games. Maybe it opens up a bit more freedom for the boys.
Scott Edwards | Netherlands captain:We're known as a side that plays hard till the last few balls. We did well in terms of front-loading the runs. We knew that Namibia has some good death bowlers in these conditions. It got a bit closer than we'd have liked, but it's still good. It's about now winning that third game of cricket.
GerhardErasmus | Namibia skipper:Never nice to be on the losing side when it's so close. We put a good show in the field. With the bat, it seemed difficult for both sides but they ran better than us. There were enough stages in the game where we didn't put enough contact on the bat and didn't move things better.