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.
It was Chris Woakes, who came at number 8 to push the accelerator and help England cross the 300-run mark against the Dutch side. Chris Waokes hit a crucial 45-ball 51 with the help of five boundaries and an over boundary.
It was Ben Stokes who played shots at will to once again show his class at the Pune stadium. Stokes became the first England player to score over 10,000 runs and pick over 100 wickets in international cricket.
Among the Netherlands bowlers, Bas de Leede was the pick with three wickets for 74 runs in his allotted 10 overs. Off-spinner Aryan Dutt, who opened the bowling for the Netherlands, claimed a couple of wickets for 67 runs in 10 overs.
Ben Stokes was adjudged as the Player of the Match, while the win helped England jumped to the seventh spot. If England remains at the same spot, they will be able to qualify for the Champions Trophy 2025 to be held in Pakistan.
Brief scores: England 339/9 (Ben Stokes 108, Dawid Malan 87, Chris Woakes 51; Bas de Leede 3/74, Aryan Dutt 2/67, Logan van Beek 2/88) beat The Netherlands 179 all out (Teja Nidamanuru 41 not out, Scott Edwards 38; Moeen Ali 3/42, Adil Rashid 3/54) by 160 runs.
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