Cricket fans on Tuesday (October 17) witnessed another upset in the ongoing World Cup as Netherlands defeated South Africa by 38 runs at HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala.
The match was reduced to 43 overs per side due to inclement weather. Invited to bat first, the Dutch side rode on skipper Scott Edwards’ unbeaten knock of 78 in 69 balls to post 245/8 on the board.
In reply, the Proteas innings folded for 207 in 42.5 overs. It was a listless batting performance as no one managed to hit a half-century. David Miller was the top scorer with 43.
For Netherlands, Logan van Beek picked up three wickets while Roelof van der Merwe, Paul van Meekeren and Bas de Leede returned with two scalps each.
During South Africa's innings, something unusual happened as the Dutch players were seen reading some instructions from a piece of paper, the picture of which went viral on social media.
After the game, former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan congratulated the Netherlands team on the historic win.
In a video posted on Instagram, Pathan also asked the Dutch players about the instructions written on the paper.
“Wo chitthi nahi Taqdeer hai jo apne apne hath se likhi hai well done Netherlands,” Irfan Pathan wrote in the caption, referring to the use of paper to know the match-up for a particular South African batter.
Following the win, Netherlands captain Scott Edwards addressed the media and said he was confident that his team could beat any side in the showpiece event.
"I suppose we go into every game with our plans and our ways that we're going to try and win the game," Edwards told reporters.
"For us, it's just about playing our best brand of cricket and we feel like if we play well enough on the day, we can beat any side."
Earlier this week, Afghanistan pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the history of World Cup as they defeated defending champions England by 69 runs in Delhi.
