3 Teams Netherlands Might Surprise in World Cup 2023

image-lnbtedyzNetherlands will surprise a few teams in the World Cup 2023 (Source: AP Photos)

Twelve years later, the Netherlands have made it to the Fifty overs World Cup event. The excitement in the air was vivid when they made it to the finals of the 2023 World Cup Qualifiers held in Zimbabwe. The squad posed behind a banner stated- "Namaste India 2023", that meant "Hello India".

The last time when the Dutch side appeared in this format of the World Cup, it was back in 2011. After a dozen years gap, they return to almost a similar venue just the fact that this year, only India is the host and not the trio of Bangladesh, Sri lanka and India. 

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The Netherlands side are better than ever. They eclipsed the West Indies, Ireland and Scotland to progress into the mega-event. Obviously, there must be some magic in this squad to decimate higher/equally-stature oppositions. And therefore, we are going to look at three teams Netherlands may surprise in World Cup 2023.


1.South Africa

Almost eleven months back Netherlands did the unthinkable by defeating South Africa in an important clash of the 2022 T20 World Cup. It was a must-win game for the Green and gold who suffered a terrible collapse, failing to surmount a target of 159 runs in 20 overs.

When the Ryan Cook-coached side faces the Proteas once again in Dharmashala, they would be more confident to replicate their previous heroics. In addition, the venue will suit their way of play relatively more than the other announced venues. 

2. Pakistan 

Pakistan has an uncanny nature of being on the wrong side of an upset. They lost to Ireland in World Cup 2007 in a group stage match that saw them get eliminated after a following loss against the West Indies. Very recently, the Babar Azam-led side also incurred a defeat against Zimbabwe in the T20 World Cup 2022 that almost threw them at the cliff of elimination. Henceforth, it won't be a surprise if something similar happens against Netherlands.

The Men in Orange will lock horns against the renowned Asian nation in their tournament opener on October 6 i.e. Friday. The Dutch has been quite prominent in the last few months, defeating West Indies, Scotland and Ireland to see through in the finals of WCQ 2023. Also, they were brilliant with the ball against Australia in the rain-intervened warm-up match. On the other hand, the Men in Green failed to bounce back after in a dominating fashion since their loss against arch-rivals, India in the Super Fours of Asia Cup 2023. They lost to Sri Lanka and soon after got drubbed in the hands of New Zealand and Australia in the warm-up matches. Henceforth, a low on confidence Pakistan side could taste a thrashing against a high on confidence Netherlands.


3. Bangladesh

If looked at the head-to-head records between Netherlands and Bangladesh, there have been two ODI encounters with equal share of triumphs. The former won a contest way back in 2010-2011 in Glasgow while the latter bounced back in World Cup 2011.

Although the stats are way too vintage to look forward to the upcoming clashes, the fact that Netherlands are supposed to play Bangladesh in the Eden Gardens could be a deciding factor. The iconic venue should have something for the Dutch pacers and even more if they bowl under lights. It could also minimise the impact of Bangladeshi spinners compared to other venues such as Chennai, Lucknow or Delhi. Henceforth, Netherlands could have a great chance to secure a win in Kolkata.