It was tense, it was close. But the Orange boys from Europe overcame their African opponents to secure their first world cup victory in 16 years. The weather intervened incessantly but the game finally took place with 43 overs for each side. It was an emotional occasion for Roelof van der Merwe, Colin Ackermann and Sybrand Engelbrecht – three of Dutch crickets who previously represented South Africa on the international level. Scott Edwards stood stall with the bat and a collective bowling performance was pivotal in securing a fairy-tale victory on the foothills of the Himalayas.
Team Lineups
Both teams made one change to their line-ups. South Africa opted for adding an extra pacer to their line-up with Gerald Coetzee coming in for wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi. Paul Klein makes way for the versatile all-rounder Logan van Beek.
South Africa
- Quinton de Kock (WK) 2. Temba Bavuma (Cap.) 3. Rassie van der Dussen 4. Aiden Markram 5. Heinrich Klassen 6. David Miller 7. Marco Jansen 8. Gerald Coetzee 9. Kagiso Rabada 10. Keshav Maharaj 11. Lungi Ngidi
Netherlands
- Max O’Dowd 2. Vikramjit Singh 3. Colin Ackerman 4. Bas de Leede 5. Teja Nidamanuru 6. Scott Edwards (Cap.) (WK) 7. Sybrand Engelbrecht 8. Logan van Beek 9. Roelof van der Merwe 10. Aryan Dutt 11. Paul van Meekeren
Temba Bavuma won the toss and elected to bowl first under overcast conditions that are favorable for swing bowling.
Fixture
| Venue | The 15th game of the 2023 World Cup was played at the beautiful HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh. |
| Date | The game started from 02:00 pm IST on Tuesday, October 17 |
Captaincy & Tactics
The game started after a series of interruptions from the inclement weather conditions. Bavuma’s choice of bowling first looked like a canny decision early on with South African seamers flexing their muscles in the early proceedings. The overcast conditions and a powerful gust of wind helped the bowlers who swung the new ball regularly. Coetzee was menacing with his raw pace and steep bounce justifying his inclusion to the playing eleven.
Scott Edwards came and his cricketing brain was at work right from the first delivery. He employed the sweep shot against Maharaj to neutralize any threat of spin. He also hit through the line on a track that did not offer much chance to play horizontally.
The South Africans did not give enough respect to the Dutch players and paid a heavy price for that. The Dutch attack was bowling at a tight line and utilized the slower ball to good effect. The spinners bowled on a fuller length to tempt the South African batters. They have done a lot of homework about the minute details of the opponents and it paid dividends with a historic victory.
Batting Analysis
Scott Edwards was the man of the occasions who stood tall amongst ruins. The Tonga-born batsman was proactive throughout his innings. He swept regularly down the leg side and this shot brought 22 runs for him with five fours. He became the second Dutch batsman after Ryan ten Doeschate to secure a 50+ score on 14 different occasions. His drives were also a spectacle to behold as runs started coming thick and fast for the Dutch at a crucial stage.
Roelof van der Merwe is still playing cricket at the ripe old age of 38 and his passion for the game is palpable through his maniac-like celebrations. The veteran came good with the willow in hand this time with an aggressive innings of 29. His career strike rate of 102.36 is proof of the guy’s effectiveness with the bat.
Aryan Dutt’s massive three sixes on the leg side took his strike rate to a staggering 255.56 as the Dutch stepped on the gas. They added 105 runs from the last 55 deliveries to finish at a score of 245.
Temba Bavuma’s record this year offers a good read: 696 runs at an average of 63.27, striking at 99 in every 100 balls. But the Protea skipper’s struggle continued at the World Cup with another poor score of 16 from 31 balls.
David Miller and Heinrich Klaasen’s stand of 45 was the highest in the South African innings, a glaring reminder of their collective failure. Miller started counterpunching through a flurry of drive and pull shots, but he was running out of partners at the other end. Keshav Maharaj showed plenty of intent in his innings of 40 but it was never going to be enough.
Bowling Analysis
Kagiso Rabada reached 150 international ODI wickets by dismissing Vikramjit Singh on the first ball of his spell. The South African seamers were on the ascendency by bowling short and leaving little room for maneuver. 23% of all deliveries within the first 10 overs were pitched on the shorter side of the 22 yards.
Marco Jansen was using all of his 2-meter frames well by delivering well-directed bouncers, he finished with 27 for 2 and a miserly economy of 3.38. The pace duo of Rabada and Ngidi picked up 2 wickets each, but they were expensive with 113 runs conceded from a combined 18 overs. South Africans were also guilty of conceding extras at a criminal rate, 32 in total with 21 wide balls.
The Dutch attack reduced South Africa to 44/4 after 11.2 overs. The meticulous snaring of the batters was evident through the dismissal of Rassie van der Dussen. Van der Dussen was tempted by the flight of Aryan Dutt and found the point fielder with his attempted reverse sweep. The ball was keeping low and Markram was castled by a dipping delivery from van Meekeren.
Roelof van der Merwe bowled wicket to wicket, allowing the batsman little room. The former South African international picked 2 wickets in his crafty spell of finger spin. Logan van de Beek has a knack for taking important wickets and he finished the night with a three-fer. He has claimed 38 scalps from 27 ODIs at an average of 32.26. Van Meekeren and Bas de Leede picked up two each to round up a memorable night.
Fielding Analysis
The South Africans were proactive and agile under tough weather conditions. The blemish in a great performance was the missed chance by Jansen who dropped Nidamanuru on 14 at fine leg. Klaasen completed a running catch to dismiss Vikramjit Singh at first slip.
Bas de Leede let the ball slip out of his hands and trickled to the boundary line to give David Miller a let-off. But in the end, it did not turn out to be costly though. Scott Edwards was calmness personified in gloves as he took a deflected catch sharply off De Kock’s bat and then a skier to dismiss Coetzee.
Key Performances
Scott Edwards played a captain’s knock of 78 runs to steer the Netherlands to a defendable target. His composed style was complemented by the blood and thunder approach of Roelof van der Merwe who made 29 himself. Aryan Dutt hit three sixes on the leg side in his innings of unbeaten 29.
Marco Jansen was the pick of the Protea bowlers with 2 wickets for only 27 runs. Rabada and Ngidi went for plenty, they also secured two wickets each.
Many of the South African batters got out cheaply after decent starts apart from David Miller. The southpaw power hitter’s 43 was the highlight of a dismal-looking scorecard. Maharaj scored 40 to reduce the deficit at the final stage.
Van de Beek picked up three wickets on a day of unbridled Dutch delight. Van Meekeren, van der Merwe, and de Leede shared six wickets equally to guide the Netherlands to a hugely significant win.
Turning Point
Scott Edwards came to bat when the situation was looking bleak for the Dutch at 82/5. The South African bowlers were dominant on a windy Dharamshala afternoon. But the Australian-born wicketkeeper-batsman was not daunted at the arduous task of rebuilding in hand and started playing shots all along the ground.
Edwards formed decent partnerships with Nidamanuru and then van Beek to steady the ship. But the match-changing move for the Dutch came when he formed a formidable stand with Roelof van der Merwe. Their partnership of 64 off just 37 balls built a platform for the slogging during the death overs.
Match Result
The Netherlands made history by recording their first-ever victory against a test-playing nation in ODIs. They beat South Africa by 38 runs.
Player of the Match
Dutch skipper Scott Edwards won the Best Player of the Match award for his match-deciding knock of 78 runs from 69 balls.
Brief Scorecard
| Netherlands Total: 245/8 (43 overs) | South Africa Total: 207/10 (42.5 overs) |
| Scott Edwards 78* (69) | David Miller 43 (52) |
| Roelof van der Merwe 29 (19) | Keshav Maharaj 40 (37) |
| Marco Jansen 2/27 | Logan van Beek 3/60 |
| Kagiso Rabada 2/56 | Roelof van der Merwe 2/34 |
Match Highlights
Match Wrap-Up
It was a momentous day for the Dutch cricket fans as their team completed the double against South Africa after they beat the same team in last year’s T20 World Cup. In a rain-hit Dharamsala pitch, the Netherlands recovered well from the early collapse to put enough runs on the board and challenge their opponents. Then they bowled with verve and purpose to restrict the run chase by picking up regular wickets. It was a fine specimen of team effort since each of the Dutch squad members stuck to their respective roles perfectly. South African captain Bavuma was vexed by his pace bowlers’ loss of momentum in the later stages which eventually cost the game.
