After his side’s 38-run victory over South Africa in their ICC Cricket World Cup match, Dutch captain Scott Edwards said he is proud of the team for their win and that he came to the tournament aiming to get a chance to make it to the semi-finals. A three-wicket haul by Logan van Beek, a half-century by skipper Scott Edwards and an all-round show by Roelof van der Merwe helped the Netherlands beat South Africa in Dharamshala, two days after Afghanistan caused an upset by beating England.
‘Hopefully a few more [wins] come. The last few games too many of our middle order hitters have been out before the end of the game so I wanted to dig deep into it and hope that a few guys around me would contribute and we were fortunate enough to achieve score at the end. Roelof van der Merwe is a lot of fun to bat with, he runs hard and hits in some strange areas, which is fun to watch from the other end. I just made him (Aryan Dutt) stop and he was clearing the ropes, he’s got the talent and it’s all on display tonight. I am proud of the group. We came into the tournament where we wanted to have a chance in the semi-finals and if you want to do that you have to beat teams and South Africa are one of the favorites the way they play so it’s a good win for us. Edwards said in the post-match presentation.
At the match, South Africa put the Netherlands first, reducing the tally to 112/6. But Edwards’ blows and his quick partnerships with Roelef van der Merwe (29 in 19 balls with three fours and a six) and Aryan Dutt (23 in nine balls with three sixes) helped Netherlands reach a total of 245/8 in 43 overs. The match was reduced to 43 overs per team due to rain.
Marco Jansen (2/28), Kagiso Rabada (2/56) and Lungi Ngidi (2/56) were the main strikers in South African bowling. Gerald Coetzee and Keshav Maharaj got a wicket each.
In the chase of 246, Proteas lost wickets at regular intervals. Despite fighting knocks from David Miller (43 in 52 balls, with four boundaries and a six), Keshav Maharaj (40 in 37 balls with five fours and a six), Heinrich Klaasen (28) and Gerald Coetzee (22) in the middle/lower order, SA were bundled out for 207 in 42.5 overs.
Logan Van Beek (3/60) was the bowlers’ choice for the Netherlands. Roelef van der Merwe, Bas De Leede and Paul Van Meekeran also took two wickets. Colin Ackermann got one wicket.
South Africa is now in third place with two wins and one defeat and four points. The Netherlands is ninth with a win and two defeats.
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