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So that concludes a fascinating day's action at the 2023 World Cup. New Zealand almost pulled off a heist against Australia before the Netherlands scripted another incredible story. The tournament is getting spicy isn't it? And we could be in for something as spicy as the biriyani in Lucknow tomorrow. It's 2 versus 10 - who'd have thought we'd say that ahead of the marquee India-England duel! But it is what it is and either way, we expect a cracking contest with superstars galore across the two sides. Do join us for our coverage of that encounter right here on Sportskeeda while also keeping yourselves updated with further cricketing news and action from around the world on this very platform. For the moment, this is the duo of Arya Sekhar Chakraborty and Rajarshi Das taking your leave as we thank you for being a part of this coverage with us. See you again tomorrow - good night and take care!
The confidence and determination in this Dutch outfit is a sight to behold. They have lit up this World Cup and have been nothing short of a joy to watch. They now move ahead of Bangladesh and England with four points from six outings. What a story this has been and they're not done just yet. They have the semifinals in mind and while they need to win all their games by a big margin, their attitude and approach is certainly how it ought to be for a team partaking in the World Cup.
Alas, the same cannot be said about Bangladesh, whose tournament just goes from bad to worse. For the kind of cricket they've played in this format in the two years leading into the competition, they will be hurting for not doing justice to the talent in their ranks. Lots of questions will be asked and they will want to make a statement in whatever remains of their campaign now.
Scott Edwards (Netherlands captain): (What was spoken after the Australia game?) I think it was a little easier to be fair because we only had two days off. We had to get over what was a pretty poor performance and then traveling here, setting our plans and getting into it. It worked out pretty well. (On the score) I was speaking to a couple of guys out there. They said if we could get to 220+ we would be in the game. Nice of the bottom order guys to get to what we thought was a pretty competitive total. (On new ball wickets again) They've been awesome - Aryan, Logan, Paul, Bas, Colin, they've all been stepping up for us. I thought we were awesome with the ball and especially in the field since we've been down there in the last couple of games. The system's getting a bit more professional back in the Netherlands. We've had a good 18 months, we expect big things from our players. We feel we're putting in a lot of work and it's nice to get the results. We always spoke at the start of the tournament of giving us a chance to make the semis. It's still a bit tricky but we'll try to win as many as we can.
Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh captain): I thought we bowled really well but we allowed them to score to 230 but it was chaseable on this surface. As bad it can get. We have to pick ourselves for the last few games. We have to take this on the chin and look forward for the next few matches. Throughout this tournament, we have been struggling big time. Not sure what is going on in our mind. It has been very unlike us. They have been supporting us in our ups and downs. I hope they keep supporting us no matter what the result is and I am hopeful there will be a big crowd for 31st.
Paul van Meekeren (Player of the Match): Yeah pretty special. We said that we wanted to qualify for the semi-final. It was a great comeback after the performance against Australia. You have to keep winning matches if you have to make the final four. We were confident at the halfway stage. We knew it was a bit too paced and it won't be easy for their batters. Just carrying on the momentum. Van Beek and Aryan kept very tight in the first 10 overs and I had to chip in. We have been trying ver hard in the fielding department. We have been hitting the stumps and Baz was a good example tonight. The innings from Scott was exceptional and he certainly deserved the Player of the Match. It was a great start from the new ball bowlers. Yeah the football match at midnight will be enjoyed by many.
Match summary:
Netherlands win by 87 runs
Scott Edwards 68(89) | Paul van Meekeren 4/23 (7.2) Mehidy Hasan Miraz 35(40) | Mustafizur Rahman 2/36 (10)
What a performance this has been from the Netherlands! Yet again, they present a case for themselves and all associate nations for more cricket with the big guns - Bangladesh were simply blown away today! The wicket was two-paced on most parts - not the most conducive for batting by any means, and the Netherlands made full use of it!
It seemed like the spinners would wreak havoc when Aryan Dutt got a few to grip and turn in the powerplay, but soon after, as soon as the pacers were introduced one by one, the complexion of the wicket seemed to change completely. Logan van Beek, Bas de Leede and Paul van Meekeren all got plenty of purchase from the deck, and Scott Edwards gobbled one dismissal after another!
Mehidy Hasan Miraz was the only one to put up some resistance among the Bangladesh top-order batters, as the rest were completely bamboozled by the extra bounce - both against pace and spin! It took a while for Scott Edwards to summon Paul van Meekeren - eventually the Netherlands' best bowler today - into the attack, due to the tight nature of bowling from Dutt and Logan van Beek in the powerplay.
Once van Meekeren had the ball, the Bangladesh middle-order crumbled completely. His height was a factor in van Meekeren succeeding in extracting some extra lift off the wicket, which helped him scalp the all-important wicket of Shakib Al Hasan. There was a brief resistance from Mahmudullah and Mahedi Hasan - the duo looked to spend quite a while in the middle and see off that particular passage of play.
Mahmudullah and Mahedi's partnership gave the Bangladeshis a ray of hope momentarily, but some hesitation between the wickets, coupled by a superb piece of fielding from de Leede accounted for the latter. Mahmudullah departed soon after, and from then on, it was a case of saving the Net Run Rate from severe damage for Bangladesh. Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman did a fairly decent job in sticking around for a while, taking the chase to the last 10 overs. Presentations coming up now...
Well! What do we know! It's the short ball that does for Taskin Ahmed eventually! Paul van Meekeren has his fourth, and the Netherlands complete a memorable victory at the Eden Gardens tonight!
42.2 Paul van Meekeren to Taskin Ahmed, WICKET! That's it, Netherlands win by 87 runs and what a comeback after being trounced by Australia in the previous game. Was a short of a length delivery from Meekeren and Taskin was always going to play the big shot, loses his shape while trying to go for the pull, doesn't get anywhere close to the timing he was after and carries straight to the deep midwicket fielder.
Taskin Ahmed c Bas de Leede b Paul van Meekeren 11 (35b, 1x4, 0x6)
42.1 Paul van Meekeren to Taskin Ahmed, that was on a good-length around the middle stump, Taskin clears his front leg and tries to swipe across the line, cue ends this back to the bowler.
Paul van Meekeren (7-0-23-3) is back into the attack
Shoriful Islam, LHB, comes to the crease
Finally! Mustafizur was doing a fairly decent job of getting behind the line against the off-spin of Ackermann, but this one proves to be too good for him!
42
overs
142/9score
0
0
0
0
0
w
runs
Mustafizur Rahman*
20(35)
Taskin Ahmed
11(33)
Colin Ackermann
1/25
41.6 Colin Ackermann to Mustafizur Rahman, WICKET! That's a beauty to send back Mustafizur. These two tail enders were delaying the inevitable but it was always on the cards. Was a flatter trajectory delivery coming in with the angle and then straightening enough to beat the outside edge of Mustafizur and clatters onto the off-stump. Netherlands close in on their 2nd victory of this World Cup.
Mustafizur Rahman b Colin Ackermann 20 (35b, 2x4, 1x6)
41.5 Colin Ackermann to Mustafizur Rahman, on a length a tad outside off, a defensive push towards the off side.
41.4 Colin Ackermann to Mustafizur Rahman, slowish on a length a tad outside off, turning away from Fizz as he gets beaten all ends up.
41.3 Colin Ackermann to Mustafizur Rahman, fullish around middle, pushed back to the bowler.
41.2 Colin Ackermann to Mustafizur Rahman, fuller around middle, defended from the crease.
41.1 Colin Ackermann to Mustafizur Rahman, on a length around middle, defended back to the bowler.
It's truly bizarre to see the lack of yorkers on show from the Netherlands pacers against this pair. Taskin Ahmad and Mustafizur Rahman have played 33 and 29 balls respectively; going by the way the Netherlands bowlers ripped through the Bangladesh middle-order, this game should have ended ages ago!
Video
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B de Leede
M Hasan Miraz
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Mustafizur Rahman
*
Colin Ackermann
Eden Gardens, Kolkata
