T20 World Cup 2022: The Netherlands cricket team edged past the Namibian side in their second match of round 1 to inch closer to a Super 12 spot. The match witnessed yet another low-scoring thriller but the Netherlands team held their nerves to go past the Nambian challenge and secured their second win in the tournament. The win has given good chance to the Netherlands team to qualify for the Super 12 stage but the match went down the wire.
Namibia opted to bat first as openers Michael van Lingen and Divan la Cock walked out to the middle. However, Cock's stay was only limited to the second over as Tim Pringle sent him back. Wickets kept tumbling and Namibia lost three wickets inside the powerplay with only 33 on the board. The previous match's top scorer for Namibia, Jan Frylinck held on one end and helped his side post a fightable 121 after 20 overs. Even though the surface looked two-paced, it looked like an under-par score.
Walking out to chase, Netherlands got off to a good start and kept the run rate high. Their top order spent time on the crease and brought the team closer to the target. However, some late strikes by UAE, spiced up things before No. 3 batter Bas de Leede took them across the finishing line. For his all-around contribution, Leede was adjudged as Player of the match.
The Netherlands are now in a strong position to make it to the Super 12. They will next face Sri Lanka in their final game on October 20.
Netherlands Playing XI:
Vikramjit Singh, Max ODowd, Bas de Leede, Colin Ackermann, Tom Cooper, Scott Edwards (c & wk), Roelof van der Merwe, Tim Pringle, Timm van der Gugten, Fred Klaassen, Paul van Meekeren
Namibia Playing XI:
Michael van Lingen, Divan la Cock, Stephan Baard, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Gerhard Erasmus (c), Jan Frylinck, David Wiese, JJ Smit, Zane Green (wk), Bernard Scholtz, Ben Shikongo
