ICC World Cup 2023: Netherlands script second upset of tournament outplaying South Africa with 38-run win

Scott Edwards led from the front as the Netherlands stunned South Africa by 38 runs in their league fixture of the ICC World Cup 2023. This was the second upset of the marquee tournament after Afghanistan defeated defending champions England at the Kotla on Sunday last.

Dharamshala (Himachal Pradesh): Netherland pacers displayed a clinical performance on Tuesday here to defeat South Africa by 38 runs. This is their first win over a Test-playing nation and only third victory in the history of the World Cup. Chasing a target of 246 from 43 overs, the opening pair added 36 runs but the Dutch bowling attack was all over their opponents after that. The South African innings witnessed a continuous fall of wickets. David Miller(43) showed some resistance in the middle order before edging a delivery onto his stumps.

Wickets kept tumbling from one end after his fall and a clinical effort from the Netherlands bowling unit saw them scripting a historic upset by 38 runs.

Earlier in the day, the Netherlands staged a recovery as they raced to 245-8 even after suffering early blows in the rain-curtailed 43 overs game in the ICC World Cup 2023 group league match at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala on Tuesday. South Africa started well with pacer Kagiso Rabada firing on all cylinders along with other seamers to reduce the Dutch to 50-4 in just 15 overs. But the Netherlands lower order came to the rescue to lift up the performance.

On a wicket that helped the seamers in the beginning, South Africa capitalized on the conditions to push the Netherlands batters to the back foot from the word go. Regular fall of wickets prevented the minnows from making big partnerships both in the top order and the middle order. The match started late owing to inclement weather and the overcast conditions. As the fixture finally began, the contest was reduced to a 43-over-a-side affair.

Coming at number 7, skipper and wicketkeeper-batter Scott Edwards remained unbeaten till the end to score a timely 78 off 69 deliveries laced with 10 boundaries and a six. Number 9 and number 10 batters — Roelf van der Merwe (29) and Aryan Dutt (23) — added 41 runs for the ninth wicket to make the Dutch reach a competitive 245 for 8 in the allotted 43 overs.

For the batting side, openers Vikramjit Dutt and Max ODowd were back in the hut inside the first 43 balls to put the Dutch side in deep trouble. From there, they failed to lift themselves up barring captain Edwards, who came at number 7, to help the team reach a respectable total in the end.

For the Proteas, Rabada, Marco Jansen, and Lungi Ngidi claimed two wickets apiece to break the backbone of the opponents.

Brief scores: The Netherlands 245/8 in 43 overs (Scott Edwards 78 not out, Roelf van der Merwe 29 and Aryan Dutt 23; Kagiso Rabada 2/56, Marco Jansen 2/27, Lungi Ngidi 2/57) beat South Africa 207 all out in 42.5 overs (David Miller 43, Keshav Maharaj 40; Logan van Beek 3/60) by 38 runs.