Cricket Highlights, June 04: T20 WC 2024 (Match 07) – Netherlands vs Nepal

Netherlands vs Nepal (Match 07) – Highlights

In this article, we will discuss the T20 World Cup 2024 match between the Netherlands and Nepal, which took place on June 04 at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas. This match marked Nepal’s return to the T20 World Cup after a decade and featured a thrilling contest where the Netherlands emerged victorious by six wickets. Despite a spirited effort from Nepal, standout performances from Tim Pringle, Logan van Beek, and Max O’Dowd ensured a successful chase for the Netherlands in a game marked by early morning rain and overcast conditions.

Nepal, participating in their first T20 World Cup in a decade, faced a tough welcome as the Netherlands’ bowlers restricted them to a modest 106 in 19.2 overs. Despite a spirited fightback from Nepal, which saw them tightening the screws on the Netherlands’ batsmen in the middle overs, the Dutch managed to chase down the target in the 19th over, thanks to O’Dowd’s unbeaten 54. His innings, marked by patience and determination, ensured a six-wicket win with eight balls remaining.

The match began with a 30-minute delay due to early-morning rain and overcast conditions. Netherlands captain Scott Edwards opted to bowl first, a decision vindicated by his bowlers’ performance. Pringle, van Beek, Paul van Meekeren, and Bas de Leede all contributed wickets, effectively stifling Nepal’s batting lineup.

Nepal, however, did not go down without a fight. Despite dropping a few crucial catches, they managed to take the game into the 19th over. The atmosphere at Grand Prairie Stadium, with its capacity of 7,000, was electric, thanks to the enthusiastic Nepalese fans who created a lively environment.

The Netherlands seamers capitalized on the overcast conditions, with Pringle striking early by dismissing Aasif Sheikh via a thick outside edge to short third in the second over. Van Beek followed suit, trapping Kushal Bhurtel lbw with his first delivery, a sharply angling length ball.

Vivian Kingma also extracted significant movement, making it challenging for the Nepalese batsmen to connect with the ball. In the powerplay, Nepal managed only 29 runs for the loss of two wickets, playing and missing 47.22% of the balls.

Rohit Paudel, the youngest captain at a T20 World Cup at 21, showed resilience, but wickets fell regularly around him. He hit a four off Kingma over covers in the seventh over, but Pringle returned to dismiss Anil Sah, who could only manage to sweep the ball to deep backward square leg. Kushal Malla briefly counter-attacked, hitting van Meekeren for a four, but was deceived by a slower off-cutter three balls later, resulting in an easy catch.

De Leede then removed Dipendra Singh Airee, who edged to slip, leaving Nepal reeling at 53 for 5 after 11 overs. Paudel’s determined 35 off 37 balls was cut short by Pringle, who secured his third wicket. A late 22-run partnership between Karan KC and Gulsan Jha helped push Nepal past 100, but van Beek ended their innings with two wickets in two balls.

Nepal needed early breakthroughs to defend their total, and Sompal Kami delivered, dismissing Michael Levitt with his second ball, caught at cover. Kami and Karan kept the pressure on, allowing only four runs in the first 15 balls. Vikramjit Singh briefly broke free with consecutive fours, but run-scoring remained difficult as Nepal bowled 19 dot balls in the powerplay, with the Netherlands reaching 36 for 1 after six overs.

The middle overs posed a tougher challenge for the Netherlands with Nepal’s spinners taking control. Airee bowled a tight first over after the powerplay, conceding just a single before trapping Vikramjit lbw with a length ball that beat his attempted slog sweep. Earlier, Kami had dropped Vikramjit at deep backward square leg, but the batsman couldn’t capitalize. 

O’Dowd and Sybrand Engelbrecht tried to stabilize the innings with a 28-run partnership, but a run out ended Engelbrecht’s stay. After O’Dowd hit a clean drive back at Kami, the non-striker caught Engelbrecht short when Kami deflected the ball onto the stumps. In the middle overs (6 to 15), Nepal’s disciplined bowling limited the Netherlands to 48 runs.

When Edwards was dismissed cheaply, it appeared the Netherlands’ chase might falter. However, O’Dowd’s experience came to the fore. He tempered his natural aggression to keep his wicket intact, even as the Netherlands went 40 balls without a boundary between the 12th and 18th overs. O’Dowd had a fortunate reprieve when Paudel dropped a straightforward catch at long-off in the 18th over. O’Dowd was on 40 then, with the Netherlands needing 18 off 17 balls.

This dropped catch seemed to relax him, and in the penultimate over, he struck Abinash Bohara for a four and a six, reaching his 13th T20I fifty. De Leede then sealed the victory with a boundary through covers, securing two crucial points for the Netherlands and providing relief to their camp.

Tim Pringle and Logan van Beek’s impressive three-wicket hauls, coupled with Max O’Dowd’s composed half-century, steered the Netherlands to a nervy victory over Nepal in their T20 World Cup 2024 opener in Dallas.

Netherlands vs Nepal Scoreboard

Nepal – 106 (20.0)

Netherlands – 109/4 (18.4)

Result – Netherlands won by 6 wickets 

Player of the match – Tim Pringle 

Tim Pringle

Netherlands vs Nepal Playing XIs

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