Afghanistan played the Netherlands in an important match that affected both the 2025 Champions Trophy and the present ODI World Cup. After winning the toss, the Netherlands decided to bat first. The Dutch made two changes to their starting eleven: Saqib Zulfiqar and Roelof van der Merwe were substituted for Shariz Ahmed and Vikramjit Singh. In contrast, Afghanistan enhanced their spin attack by substituting Noor Ahmad for Naveen ul Haq. The Netherlands scored 179 runs against Afghanistan. Here is a recap of the first innings.
Netherlands go big in the powerplay
When he bowled first, Mujeeb ur Rahman was spot-on in his opening over. On the fifth delivery of the game, he took Wesley Barresi out for his 100th wicket in an ODI. In just the second over of the game, Fazalhaq Farooqi gave up the first four runs due to his lack of control when bowling. In his first five overs, Farooqi let up eight fours, demonstrating his persistent expensiveness. Max Odowd, who had a poor start to the competition, was one of the players who scored nine fours in the powerplay today. The Netherlands scored 66 runs in the first powerplay, and Mujeeb was hit for a run as well.
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Afghanistan is back in the game
After the powerplay, the Netherlands lost a wicket due to a runout in the very first over. Azmatullah Omarzai delivered a fantastic straight blow to the keeper’s end, dismissing ODowd. In just 40 balls, ODowd scored 42 runs, hitting eight fours. As the Dutch side’s runs began to run out, Rashid Khan entered the attack in the sixteenth over. Continuing to lose the plot, the Netherlands gave Afghanistan’s Colin Ackermann another wicket in the 19th over. Ackermann smashed four fours and scored 29 runs in 35 balls. After yet another runout, captain Scott Edwards was for a golden duck on the very next ball.
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In the 21st over, Bas de Leede was removed by Mohammad Nabi. Nabi bowled cheaply and consistently produced dot balls to put pressure on the Dutch side. Within his first five overs, the seasoned all-round player gave up just nine runs.
Quick wickets put the Netherlands in the backseat
It was in the 24th over that Noor Ahmad entered the attack. With a wicket in only his second over, he had an immediate impact. Saqib Zulfiqar, who only managed three runs in fifteen balls, was dismissed by Noor. In the 28th over, Sybrand Engelbrecht struck twice in two balls, two outside edges passing between the clutches of the first slip.
After struggling to defeat the Afghan spinners, Logan van Beek was eventually put out of his misery by Nabi. He was out in the 31st over by Nabi. Ikram Alikhil stumped Van Beek when he sprinted down the pitch and completely missed the ball. In 13 balls, Van Beek scored two runs. In the 32nd over, Engelbrecht hit two straight fours to reach his half-century against Noor. In 74 balls, Engelbrecht reached his fifty.
The Netherlands lost another wicket due to a runout as they kept collapsing. Engelbrecht was removed with an unnecessary runout after he played a nice knock. With six fours in 86 balls, Engelbrecht scored 58 runs. Roelof van der Merwe’s review prevented the Netherlands from losing their ninth wicket, just as Rashid was about to take his first. After bowling off his ten overs, Rashid finished with 10-0-31-0. Noor picked up his second wicket as van der Merwe was dismissed in the 42nd over. Van der Merwe scored 11 runs in 33 balls.
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