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The Netherlands registered their first victory in the 2023 World Cup on Tuesday, October 17, causing a huge upset in the process. They beat South Africa by 38 runs at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala.
The Dutch team also defeated South Africa at the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia last year, resulting in the Proteas team's elimination from the tournament.
Rain intervened in the proceedings before Tuesday's match commenced, forcing the officials to reduce it to a 43-over-per-side affair. South African captain Temba Bavuma won the toss and opted to bowl first. The Netherlands got off to a poor start as they collapsed to 50/4 in 15.1 overs.
Scott Edwards (78*) held the fort at one end at this juncture and played a captain's knock to shepherd them to a respectable total. Roelof van der Merwe (29) and Aryan Dutt (23*) hit fine cameos to assist their skipper. On the back of their spirited performances, the Netherlands reached 245/8 in 43 overs.
The Dutch bowling attack then put on a wonderful collective performance to bundle out South Africa for 207 in 42.5 overs and register a memorable ODI victory. Logan van Beek picked up three wickets, while Paul van Meekeren, Paul van Meekeren, and Bas de Leede scalped two wickets apiece.
Cricket fans were thrilled after witnessing a magnificent performance from the Netherlands. They heaped praise on them through their reactions on X. Here are some of the top reactions:
"We came into the tournament and wanted to have a chance at playing semifinals"- Netherlands captain Scott Edwards
At the post-match presentation, Netherlands captain Scott Edwards reflected on their performance against South Africa and said:
"Over the last couple of games our issue has been too many of our middle-order batters being out before the end of the game. I was looking to take it deep and with a couple of guys chipping in we were lucky enough to get to how many ever we ended up with."
Speaking about Roelof van der Merwe's performance, Edwards said:
"He's good fun to bat with. He runs hard which I like and he hits it to strange areas."
On his partnership with Aryan Dutt, Edwards added:
"That was pretty easy on my part - I just had to get him on strike for him to clear the ropes (grins)."
"That was some pretty awesome hitting I've seen from a number 10 bat. He's got a lot of talent. Obviously proud I suppose of the group and putting in that performance as a whole and playing my part, it's obviously nice."
Edwards concluded:
"We came into the tournament and wanted to have a chance at playing the semifinals. If you've got to do that you've got to beat teams. South Africa are one of the favorites the way they're playing."
The Dutch side will next face Sri Lanka on October 21 at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow. South Africa, meanwhile, will face England on the same day at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
