ODI World Cup 2023: Netherlands scored 245 runs against South Africa

The 15th game of the ongoing ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 pitted The Netherlands versus South Africa at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala. Each team named one alteration to its starting XI. For South Africa, Gerald Coetzee replaced Tabraiz Shamsi, and for the Netherlands, Logan van Beek took Ryan Klein’s position. South Africa won the toss and opted to field first restricting the Netherlands to 245 runs. Here is a recap of the first innings.

South Africa won the powerplay

Rain intervened in the game, causing it to be reduced to 43 overs per side and delayed the start of the game by two hours. The powerplay was reduced to eight overs. Lungi Ngidi got things going by passing a maiden to Vikramjit Singh. Max O’Dowd hit Marco Jansen for a four after he began the other end with two wides. O’Dowd also smacked Ngidi for a pair of fours. In the fourth over of the inning, Jansen bowled the second debut over. In the fifth over, O’Dowd persisted with his assault, slamming Ngidi for a further four. 

Ngidi was replaced in the attack by Kagiso Rabada, who immediately had an impact by scooping up a wicket with his first ball of the game. Vikramjit was dismissed by Rabada, giving him 150 wickets in the format. On the first ball of the following over, Jansen also struck, dismissing O’Dowd. He was first declared not out for being caught behind, but captain Temba Bavuma appealed the decision and umpire Michael Gough’s on-field ruling was reversed. O’Dowd struck four fours and scored 18 runs in 25 balls. The Netherlands scored 27 runs for the cost of two wickets after the powerplay.

Quick wickets for South African quicks

In his third over, Rabada proceeded to bowl with precise lines and lengths, adding another wicket. After initially being ruled not out, Bas de Leede was struck out by the South African pacer. This time, the ball tracking revealed three reds, forcing umpire Richard Kettleborough to change his decision. In the 12th over, Coetzee entered the fray and began his spell with a pair of really wide deliveries. Only nine runs were scored in four overs (12–15) against Coetzee and Rabada, who bowled with exceptional control. Colin Ackermann was dismissed by Coetzee in the 16th over as a result of the lack of runs. The Dutch batter chopped on the back of the length delivery from outside off back to his stumps. Ackermann scored 13 runs in 25 balls hitting one four.

The Netherlands regained some control

In the same over Engelbrecht smashed the first six of the match by getting a top edge while playing a hook shot. As Ngidi came back for his second spell in the following over, there were a few bonus runs scored. Ngidi produced a short ball that Quinton de Kock attempted to jump to catch behind the stumps but it went above his hands, resulting in five runs off wides. On the following ball, Sybrand Engelbrecht looked to glance a length ball going down the leg side, but it bounced off his thigh pad and went for a four. In five overs (16-20), the Dutch regained some composure and scored 31 runs. 

Engelbrecht was struck out by Ngidi in the 21st over, giving him his first wicket of the game. While trying to play a second hook shot, Engelbrecht even managed to hit it with some connection, but it went straight to Jansen who was positioned at fine leg. The Dutch batter smacked a four and a six, scoring 19 runs in 37 balls.

In the 22nd over, when Keshav Maharaj entered the fray, Scott Edwards, the Dutch captain, welcomed him with a boundary off the first ball. After two successful reviews, South Africa burnt their first review against Edwards in the same over as the ball tracking indicated that the ball would have missed the leg stump. Teja Nidamanuru smashed a four in the following over against Ngidi. Jansen then missed an easy catch at fine leg in the same over, giving Nidamanuru another chance. As the Netherlands reached 100 runs in 23.4 overs, Edwards hit another boundary off Maharaj’s bowling in the subsequent over. 

South Africa continued to pick regular wickets

After dropping the catch, Jansen made up for it by trapping Nidamanuru in front of the stumps and dismissing him. In 25 balls, Nidamanuru scored 20 runs while hitting three fours. On the eighth ball he faced, Logan van Beek hit a boundary to start his innings. Rabada came back into the attack and began with a quiet over that produced just three runs. In the 33rd over, Edwards broke the shackles by slamming Rabada for a six after a few quiet overs. Van Beek was finally stumped out by Maharaj, giving him his first wicket of the game. 

The Netherlands scored some crucial runs

Replacing Rabada, Coetzee came back into the attack in the 35th over. Roelof van der Merwe welcomed the 23-year-old pacer with two consecutive fours. To end the costly 15-run over, Van der Merwe hammered another six off the fifth ball and took a single. In the next over, Edwards hit a boundary and the Netherlands’ scoring rate rose. In his subsequent over, Coetzee allowed 10 runs after being hit for another four by van der Merwe. Maharaj conceded another four from Edwards as he let eight runs off his over. In the subsequent over, Edwards hit two consecutive fours from Rabada to reach his fifty-over mark. In 53 balls, he reached his 14th ODI fifty. When Ngidi joined the attack, he was treated similarly, as he let up some extra runs by bowling wides and no-balls, totalling 12 runs in four balls. On the fifth ball, he got rid of van der Merwe after the Dutch batter gloved the ball to de Kock. Van der Merwe struck three fours and one six to score 29 runs in 19 balls. In the next over, Edwards smashed a four off the first ball off the 41st over and Aryan Dutt smashed a six on the fourth ball as Rabada conceded 16 runs off his over.