ODI World Cup 2023: South Africa lost by 38 runs against Netherlands

The Netherlands stunned the cricketing world by defeating South Africa by 38 runs. The South African team struggled against the Dutch team once more, much as they did in the T20 World Cup the year before. Roelof van der Merwe’s all-around effort clinched the Netherlands’ victory. The second innings are summarised below.

South Africa started well in the powerplay

Following a crucial cameo with the bat in the first innings, Aryan Dutt started bowling for the Netherlands. He bowled a maiden over against Temba Bavuma. When Logan van Beek bowled from the other end, he allowed eight runs in his first over before being struck for a four. Against Dutt, Bavuma also hit his first boundary in the third over. Van Beek was replaced by Colin Ackermann, who allowed just one run in his first over. He was pricey in his second over, getting struck by Bavuma for a six and a four. Bowling his third over, Ackermann repaid the faith shown in him by the skipper as he dismissed de Kock on the last ball of his over.

The Netherlands strangled South Africa with quick wickets

In the tenth over, Van der Merwe entered the fray and immediately had an impact by removing the South African skipper with his first delivery. Bavuma, who was playing for the turn and was knocked over, was duped by the slider. In 31 balls, Bavuma scored 16 runs by hitting two fours and a six. Aiden Markram was dismissed by Paul van Meekeren with a top-of-off delivery in his second over. In his following over, van der Merwe dismissed Rassie van der Dussen. Van der Dussen attempted to play the reverse sweep and even made a connection, but it was intercepted by backward point fielder Aryan Dutt who took the catch to end his innings.

David Miller and Heinrich Klassen provide some relief

In just a few balls, South Africa went down to 46/4. After that, Heinrich Klassen and David Miller forged a vital alliance for the Proteas. Both batters have a reputation for being aggressive. The partnership got off to a sluggish start with a few quiet overs. Within the first 18 balls they faced, they scored 13 runs. In the fifteenth over, Klassen smacked van Meekeren for a four, then Miller smacked a six against van der Merwe in the following over. In the subsequent over, Klassen then smacked a four as Aryan Dutt got back into the attack. 

Quick wickets get the Netherlands on top

After just bowling one over with the new ball, Van Beek rejoined the fray in the 19th over. The dismissal of Klassen by the Dutch all-rounder ended the 45-run stand immediately. Klassen struck four fours and scored 28 runs in just 28 balls. In four overs (20–23), the Dutch bowlers bowled excellent control, only surrendering 12 runs. In the 24th over, Van der Merwe nearly won the game for the Dutch when he forced Miller to take a false shot. Miller lofted the ball towards long-on while dancing down, but Bas de Leede dropped what could have been the game-winning catch. On the final ball of the 25th over, van Meekeren bowled Marco Jansen in the subsequent over.

In the 27th over, Gerald Coetzee crushed van Meekeren for a four and a six, scoring 11 runs. In the following over, Coetzee hit a further four. Van Beek was then attacked by Miller, who knocked him out cold for two fours. It took just three overs for South Africa to score 27 runs. After the pricey overs, Van der Merwe resumed his attack and allowed just two runs in his over. After an expensive over, Van Beek made a stylish comeback and got rid of Miller in his following over. Miller smashed four fours and one six, scoring 43 runs in 52 balls. South Africa still needed more than 100 runs to win after Miller’s wicket. The required rate increased to 10 RPO in the next two overs when van der Merwe and van Beek bowled two overs with just two runs allowed. Coetzee top-edged a ball from de Leede, which wicketkeeper Scott Edwards caught, during one of the calm overs. In 23 balls, Coetzee scored 22 runs by hitting two fours and a six.