Pune (Maharashtra): England rode on scintillating hundred by Ben Stokes and a clinical show by their spinners to record a 160-run win against the Netherlands in a league stage fixture of the ICC World Cup 2023 at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium here on Wednesday.
Ben Stokes's quickfire 108 coupled with opener David Malan's 87 first helped the defending champions to post a massive 339/9 in their 50 overs and then spinners Adil Rashid (3/54) and Moeen Ali (3/42) shared six scalps among them as they bundled out the opposition for 179 to script a consolation win.
The Netherlands chase never got going and they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. All their batters made a beeline to the pavilion. The Netherlands was reeling at 104/5 and from here on it was just a matter of time.
They were all out in the 38th over for 179 after Moeen Ali dismissed last man Paul van Meekeren (4), who was stumped by Jos Buttler. It was England's only second win the marquee tournament. This is the first time every team has won at least two matches each in an edition of ODI World Cup.
Earlier, thanks to Ben Stokes' ton and Dawid Malan's 87, England put up a slightly better show to post 339 for nine, their second best in the tournament.
Opting to bat, the Jos Buttler-led side didn't look comfortable against an ordinary Dutch attack with Jonny Bairstow (15) walking back to the pavilion in the seventh over of the innings. But Dawid Malan was there to resurrect the innings and later joined hands with Ben Stokes to wriggle England out of the trouble.
Stokes played a classy innings laced with some lusty hittings to score 108 off 84 deliveries peppered with six boundaries and an equal number of hits over the fences. Joe Root and Harry Brook disappointed with 28 and 11, respectively.
