World Cup 2023 | Scott Edwards, Van Der Merwe Exhibit Grace As NED Stuns South Africa

Roelof van der Merwe cleaned up Temba Bavuma at the 2023 World Cup (AP)

Brief Scores: Netherlands: 245-8 (43 overs) [Scott Edwards: 78* (69), Roelof van der Merwe: 29 (19); Marco Jansen 2/27 (8), Kagiso Rabada 2/56 (9)] defeated South Africa: 207 all out (42.5 overs) [David Miller: 43 (52), Keshav Maharaj: 40 (37); Logan van Beek 3/60 (8.5), Roelof van der Merwe 2/34 (9)] by 38 runs.

Netherlands stunned South Africa for the second time in a year at an ICC event, this time in their 2023 World Cup faceoff in Dharamsala.

Scott Edwards’ elegance and Dutt’s fury lift NED to 245

Following a delayed start at the HPCA Stadium in Dharmashala, Netherlands openers took first guard at the crease after they were put into bat first. None of their top six, including in-form batters Vikramjit Singh and Bas de Leede managed to trouble South Africa’s experienced attack as the Dutchmen slumped to 112-6 by the end of their 27th over.

With just 16 overs remaining in the innings, captain Scott Edwards took the run-scoring onus into his own hands as he tactically kept ticking along with surgical boundaries and smart singles. For starters, he shared 64 runs from just six overs with senior teammate Roelof van der Merwe to take his side past the 200-run mark. Roelof himself produced 29 from just 19 balls, and his thunderous cameo inspired tailender Aryan Dutt to unleash even bigger fury with his nine-ball 23*.

Dutt’s barrage of death-overs sixes, coupled with captain Edwards’ unbeaten 78 took Netherlands to a commendable 245-8 from their 43 overs.

Among South African bowlers, each of their four speedsters found themselves amongst the wickets, with Marco Jansen’s 2-27 inflicting the most damage to the Netherlands upfront. His pace mates Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi and Gerald Coetzee sustained some beating in the backend of the innings while ace spinner Keshav Maharaj finished with 1-38 from his nine overs.

Merwe, Meekeren, Logan van Beek leave SA red-faced

South African opener Quinton de Kock was the early aggressor for his side in their run-chase, while his skipper Temba Bavuma decided to get a feel of the pitch in the powerplay. As it turned out, neither de Kock’s aggression nor Bavuma’s cautious approach worked in Proteas favor.

The South African captain, in particular, was cleaned up with a beauty by senior Dutchman Roelof van der Merwe as he was caught on the crease to the spinner’s angling delivery.

Number three Rassie van der Dussen and Aiden Markram both succumbed to run-chase pressure as Netherlands’ 21-ball four-wicket burst strangulated South Africa’s top-order at 44-4. Heinrich Klaasen doubled team’s total with a near run-a-ball partnership with David Miller until he mistimed one off Logan van Beek. Miller top-scored in the innings with his counterattacking 43 before he became Beek’s second victim of the evening.

Paul van Meekeren and Roelof van der Merwe ran through South Africa’s middle-order while star all-rounder Bas de Leede trapped tailenders to script a 38-run triumph for Netherlands.

The win granted the Dutchmen their first of the 2023 World Cup as they gained a rung on the points table.

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