The Netherlands’ lower-middle order held its nerves to eke out a three-wicket win over United Arab Emirates (UAE) with a ball to spare in their opening Group A game of the T20 World Cup here on Sunday.
While the UAE struggled to reach 111 for 8 in 20 overs after to opting bat, the total started looking menacing once the Netherlands were reduced to 76 for 6 by the 14th over before they gathered their bearings.
It was captain Scott Edwards (16 not out) and Logan Van Beek (4 not out) who kept their cool in the final over bowled by medium pacer Zawar Farid as the Netherlands scampered home for a single off the penultimate delivery of the game to start off on a winning note.
It was Pakistan-born Junaid Siddique (3/24 in 4 overs), who dismissed Tom Cooper (8) and former South Africa leftarm spinner Roelof van der Merwe in three balls to bring UAE back in the game. But Tim Pringle (15), son of former New Zealand seamer Chris Pringle, and Edwards added 27 in five overs to take the Netherlands closer to victory.
Earlier, when UAE batted, they could never really force the pace. Pacer Bas de Leede (3/19 in 3 overs), whose father Tim had played in the 1996 World Cup, was the pick of the bowlers for the Netherlands.
“I like bowling in those situations as I know batters will come after me. So I just try to be one step ahead,” Man of the Match De Leede said.
Brief scores: UAE 111/8 in 20 overs (M. Waseem 41; B. De Leede 3/19). The Netherlands 112/7 in 19.5 overs (M. O’Dowd 23, S. Edwards 16 n.o.; J. Siddique 3/24). The Netherlands won by 3 wickets.
