Netherlands beat Namibia by five wickets to register second win in T20 World Cup
The Netherlands registered their second successive win by defeating Namibia by five wickets in the T20 World Cup here on Tuesday. Netherlands restricted Namibia to a score of 121 for six in a Group A match and then chased down the target in 19.3 overs. The Netherlands team was once in a very strong position after scoring 92 for one wicket but after that they gave a chance to Namibia to make a comeback.
Vikramjit Singh (39 runs in 31 balls) and Max Odoud (35 runs in 35 balls) got the team off to a great start by adding 59 runs for the first wicket. Left-arm pacer Johannes Jonathan Schmidt (2 for 24), however, reduced the Netherlands’ score from 92 for one to 102 for five. Bass de Leede (30 not out off 30 balls), however, did not lose his patience and stitched an unbroken 20-run partnership with Tim Pringle (08 not out) to win the team.
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Earlier, De Leede (two for 18) also performed effectively with the ball as the Netherlands restricted Namibia to a low score. Rolof van der Merwe (1 for six), Pringle (1 for 15), Colin Ackermann (1 for 17) and Paul van Meekern (1 for 18) bowled economical for the Netherlands. Electing to bat after winning the toss, Namibia had a poor start and the team lost three wickets for 32 runs. Yann Freilink (43) shared a fine partnership with captain Gerhard Erasmus (16). In the 19th over, both of them were sent to the pavilion by De Leede within three balls. Michael Van Lingen (16) and Stefan Bard (19) also played useful innings. David Wiese (11 not out) and Smit (05 not out) remained unbeaten.
The Netherlands are at the top of Group A with two wins in two matches.Namibia have two points from two matches and still have a chance to make it to the Super 12. Netherlands captain Scott Edwards said after two wins, his team is eyeing a positive result after winning the third match and making it to the Super 12s. On the other hand, Namibian captain Erasmus said that batting on this pitch was a bit difficult.
