The 15th match of the ICC World Cup 2023 saw South Africa stunned by the Netherlands in a rain-hit match in Dharamshala on October 17. South Africa had won both their previous two matches against Sri Lanka and Australia.
The Netherlands had lost both their first two matches. The encounter was delayed due to rain and wet outfield, reducing the match to a 43 over-per-side encounter. Temba Bavuma won the toss and chose to bowl first in overcast conditions.
And Dutch batters found it difficult to counter the movement Proteas bowlers got. Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen picked two wickets each as the Netherlands reeled at 112/6 in 27 overs. But then Captain Scott Edwards began counter-attacking and he got support from the lower order.
He made 78* with 10 fours and 1 six. Roelof van der Merwe made 29 in 19 and Aryan Dutt smashed 23* in 9 balls with 3 sixes as the Netherlands plundered over 100 runs in the last 9 overs to finish on 245/8 in 43 overs.
In response, Scott Edwards employed spinners from both ends and his tactic paid rich dividends. Quinton de Kock, who had hit centuries in the previous two matches, fell for 20 and Temba Bavuma made 16 runs. Rassie van der Dussen (4) and Aiden Markram fell for single-digit scores as well.
Heinrich Klaasen (28) and David Miller (43) stabilized the fall of wickets for a while. But the Netherlands, bowling to a plan, broke the 45-run partnership, and the free fall began. Only Miller was holding the fort down and kept South Africa’s hopes alive.
But Logan van Beek ended his vigil and the Netherlands then marched towards victory in style. Though Keshav Maharaj scored 40 runs to lessen the margin of defeat, South Africa was bundled out for 207 runs. The Netherlands won by 38 runs and pocketed 2 points, moving up from the last spot in the CWC 2023 points table.
For the Netherlands, Logan van Beek took three wickets. Van der Merwe, Paul van Meekeren, and Bas de Leede took 2 wickets apiece.
The cricket fraternity was left impressed by the clinical performance of the Netherlands and lauded them wholeheartedly on social media.
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