INDIA: The 15th game of Cricket World Cup 2023 on Tuesday, witnessed Netherlands trounced South Africa by 38 runs, humiliating the Proteas for the second time in a year. At Dharamshala, South Africa, one of the tournament favourites, was bowled out for 207 while attempting to chase down 246 in order to win.
South Africa was eliminated by the Dutch from the Twenty20 World Cup in Australia in November of last year. Prior to that, the Netherlands was able to finish with a manageable target because of captain Scott Edwards’ stunning performance. Aryan Dutt, the last batsman to bat, scored several important sixes in the last few overs to raise the total to 245/8.
As Netherlands wickets continued to drop, South African pacers absolutely controlled the game. Lungi Ngidi and Gerald Coetzee both struck out to get rid of Sybrand Engelbrecht and Colin Ackermann, respectively.
Kagiso Rabada defeated the Netherlands batting today by claiming two wickets. He first got rid of Vikramjit Singh before dismissing the in-form Bas de Leede. Under the pace onslaught of South Africa, Netherlands batsmen were having difficulty.
Netherlands openers Max O’Dowd and Vikramjit Singh started cautiously. The game was shortened to 43 overs with a 9-over powerplay.
Rain caused a significant delay in the start of the South Africa vs. Netherlands match, but Max O’Dowd, the Netherlands’ opener, appeared to be in terrific shape when the game got underway. South Africa’s speed attack was being led by Lungi Ngidi and Marco Jansen, aiming for early wickets.
The Netherlands scored a valiant 245-8 against the South Africans, with captain Scott Edwards scoring an unbeaten 78 and Roelof van der Merwe making a surprise return. Edwards scored 78 off 69 balls, including 10 fours and a six, while van der Merwe scored 29 off 19 balls. He played 13 ODIs for the South African team before switching.
South Africa has outscored Sri Lanka by 102 runs and Australia by 134 runs in their previous two matches. The Proteas team, known for their excellent bowling and batting, scored over 300 runs in both matches, while also holding the Australians to 177 runs in the second game.
The Netherlands lost both their opening games, despite bowling well and claiming quick wickets in the first game against Pakistan. The Asian team scored 286 runs, but the Netherlands were bowled out for 205. In the second game, New Zealand’s all-around performance bowled out the Netherlands. They were bowled out for 223 after failing to chase down the 322 runs New Zealand scored in their 50 overs.
Also Read: Afghanistan Defeats England in an Unexpected Victory, Halts 14-Game Losing Streak
