DHARAMSALA: South Africa sustained a second upset at the hands of the Netherlands as they fell to a 38-run defeat against the spirited Dutch side in the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023.
Set to chase 246, the strong South African batting lineup, which racked up the highest World Cup total against Sri Lanka in their campaign opener, bundled out for a paltry 207 in the 43rd over.
Proteas openers Quinton de Kock and Temba Bavuma started off cautiously with a 36-run partnership, which ended in the eighth over when Colin Ackermann got the former caught behind on 20.
Bavuma (16) soon followed in his footsteps after being castled by Roelof van der Merwe in the 10th over.
South Africa then sustained two more blows to their pursuit as Aiden Markram (1) and Rassie van der Dussen (4) perished cheaply, resulting in the side slipping to 44/4 in the 12th over.
Experienced David Miller and Heinrich Klaasen attempted to anchor the run chase as they added a cautious 45 runs to the total before Logan van Beek dismissed the latter to open the floodgates.
The right-handed batter scored a run-a-ball 28 with the help of four boundaries.
Miller then put together a brief 20-run partnership with Marco Jansen, who could score a 25-ball nine.
He then stitched a gutsy 36-run stand with Gerald Coetzee before both fell in quick succession to leave South Africa reeling at 147/8 in the 34th over.
David Miller remained the top-scorer for South Africa with a cautious 43. His 52-ball knock featured four boundaries and a six. Coetzee, however, could score a 23-ball 22.
Tailender Keshav Maharaj added valuable runs for South Africa at the backend but his 40-run knock was insufficient to avoid the upset defeat.
Logan van Beek led the bowling attack for the Netherlands with three wickets, followed by two each from Paul van Meekeren, Roelof van der Merwe and Bas de Leede while Ackermann struck out a batter.
Put into bat first, the Netherlands posted a commendable total on the board in the rain-affected match, reduced to 43 overs per side, courtesy of notable contributions from their lower-order batters.
The Dutch got off to a dismal start to their innings as Kagiso Rabada broke the 22-run opening partnership between Vikramjit Singh and Max O’Dowd (2) by getting the former caught at slip.
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His opening partner O’Dowd, soon followed him back to the dugout in the next over, falling victim to Marco Jansen. He scored 18 in 25 balls, hitting four boundaries.
The Dutch kept losing wickets at regular intervals and consequently slipped to 140/7 in the 34th over.
With the side in heaps of trouble, captain Scott Edwards was joined by experienced all-rounder Roelof van der Merwe and the pair turned the game on its head.
Edwards and van der Merwe counterattacked South Africa with clean hitting.
The duo added 64 runs for the eighth wicket, conceding just 36 deliveries before van der Merwe was caught behind off Lungi Ngidi in the 40th over.
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He played a crucial 29-run cameo, taking only 19 deliveries and smashed three boundaries and a six.
Netherlands’ number 10 Aryan Dutt made sure that his side did not lose momentum and supported Edwards with his quickfire 23. His nine-ball unbeaten knock featured three sixes.
Scott Edwards remained the top-scorer for the Netherlands with 78 not out in 69 deliveries, laced up with 10 boundaries and a six.
A late counterattack by the Dutch side put South Africa under immense pressure, which resulted in several fielding errors and yielded 32 runs.
Lungi Ngidi, Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen bagged two wickets each for South Africa while Gerald Coetzee and Keshav Maharaj struck out a batter apiece.
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