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In a match that turned out to be an edge-of-the-seat pulsating thriller, the Netherlands held their nerve and thwarted Namibia's late comeback to register an emphatic win. The Netherlands registered a five-wicket win against Namibia with just four balls to spare in a low-scoring drama-filled contest at the Simonds Stadium in Geelong on October 18 (Tuesday). Courtesy of a confidence-boosting win, the Men in Orange took a giant step in terms of securing their qualification for the Super-12 stage.
Chasing a below-par target of 122 runs, Scott Edwards' Holland were cruising toward an easy win with Vikramjit Singh (39 off 31) and Max O'Dowd (35 off 35) got Netherlands' chase off to a blazing start, sharing 59 runs for the opening wicket. Namibian bowlers brought a new twist to the contest by bagging four wickets in quick succession. From 92/1 to 102/5, Netherlands' innings suffered a major collapse, giving Namibia a small window to register a famous comeback win.
However, Namibia's late surge was well negotiated by Bas de Leede (30 not out off 30 balls) and Tim Pringle (eight not out off nine balls). The duo batted sensibly and instead of looking for a grandstand finish, Leede and Pringle switched focus to singles and double, which in the end turned out to be the ideal approach.
Earlier, de Leede (2/18) shone with the ball as well, to help the Netherlands restrict Namibia to a modest total.
Besides, Roelof van der Merwe (1/6), Pringle (1/15), Colin Ackermann (1/17) and Paul van Meekeren (1/18) also registered their names in the wicket column for the Netherlands.
Electing to bat, Namibia endured a poor start, losing their first three wickets for 32 runs.
Jan Frylinck (43) tried to resurrect Namibia's innings in the company of skipper Gerhard Erasmus' (16) before de Leede accounted for both the batters in a span of three balls in the 19th over.
Michael van Lingen (20) and Stephan Baard (19) got starts at the top before being dismissed.
David Wiese (11 not out) and Smit (5 not out) remained unbeaten for Namibia.
With two wins from as many games, Netherlands topped Group A ahead of Namibia (2 points from 2 games), and are better placed to qualify for the Super 12 stage.
Netherlands had defeated the UAE by three wickets in their opener, while Namibia stunned Sri Lanka by 55 runs.
Netherlands will take on Sri Lanka in their last group match on Thursday, while Namibia will be up against UAE.
(With PTI inputs)
