Kolkata

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Bangladesh's hopes of making it to the knockouts were dealt a cruel blow at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Saturday (Oct 28) evening as the Asian side succumbed to an 87-run defeat against the Netherlands. Chasing a modest target of 230, Bangladesh never looked in the contest as an impressive all-round bowling performance from the Dutch side kept them in shackles throughout. 

Paul van Meekeren (4/23) and Bas de Leede (2/25) were the pick of the bowlers while Bangladesh bowlers failed to apply themselves. Openers Litton Das and Tanzid Hasan never attempted to take advantage of the powerplay overs, despite the pitch having no such demons. 

Das was the first to depart in the fifth over with the scoreboard only registering 19 runs. Hasan followed his partner in the next over as Logan van Beek got him to nick one back to captain-wicketkeeper Scott Edwards behind the sticks. 

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With two wickets down, Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Najmul Hossain Shanto attempted to steer the ship but Van Meekeren used his pace and outfoxed the Bangladesh batter. The 11-20 overs phase was when Bangla Tigers lost four wickets while only mustering 33 runs. 

Also read | Netherlands stun South Africa again in World Cup's second big upset with 38-run win in Dharamsala

Skipper Shakib Al Hasan and veteran Mushfiqur Rahim could not perform their rescue job, as they have done many times in the past decade for the team. 

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The deck was slow and allowed spinners to get into the contest and yet the Bangladesh bowlers were unable to get any major purchase. It didn't help their cause that fielders did not bring their A-game and allowed the Dutch to chart a comeback win.  

Outdated cricket from Bangladesh 

Batting first, Netherlands lost four wickets for the paltry score of 63 but a dogged partnership between Edwards (68) and Sybrand Engelbrecht (35) meant that the Dutch side somehow got back into the contest. Edwards once again played a delightful knock and took the team to a respectable total which proved beyond the reach of the Bangladesh side in the end. 

The defeat once again showed the outdated brand of cricket that Bangladesh have been playing for the last few years. Playing on rank turners at home and raking up victories against depleted sides may have provided momentary gains but in the long run, the side has heavily suffered. As of today, Netherlands look more professional and well-equipped to play the modern brand of ODI cricket. 

(With inputs from agencies)

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