There were no major surprises in the ODI World Cup 2023 clash between New Zealand and Netherlands in Hyderabad. Mitchell Santner’s fifer helped New Zealand register an easy victory by 99 runs against the Netherlands to continue their winning run in the tournament and better their net run rate (NRR) which got an early boost after beating England.
After winning the toss, Netherlands skipper Scott Edwards opted to field first. After toying with English bowlers, Devon Conway was quiet against Netherlands' opening bowlers as not a single run in the first three overs. Will Young broke the shackles and soon Conway joined him too. Boundaries were flowing and New Zealand had 63 on the board after 10 overs. Reolof van der Merwe broke the partnership with the wicket of Conway in the 13th over. He scored 32 runs from 40 balls.
Young reached his half-century from 59 balls. The partnership between him and Rachin Ravindra grew. In the 27th over, Paul van Meekeren got the wicket of Young who scored 70 runs from 80 balls. Daryl Mitchell attacked right from the start. His catch was dropped in the 32nd over. After the drinks break, Ravindra reached his half-century from 50 balls but then Merwe broke the partnership again. Stand-in skipper Tom Latham hit Bas de Leede for three consecutive fours. Mitchell missed his half-century by just two runs as Meekeren got rid of him with a slower ball. He scored 48 runs from 47 balls.
In the next over, Bas de Leede dismissed Glenn Phillips for a single-digit score. Aryan Dutt came back into the attack and got Mark Chapman out. In the 48th over, Latham reached his half-century from 43 balls. Matt Henry hit a first-ball six. Santner went berserk and his 17-ball 36 cameo helped the Kiwis post 322/7.
In the run chase, Vikramjit Singh's catch was dropped in the second over. Henry got the first wicket in the sixth over. Vikramjit departed after scoring 12 runs from 20 balls. Max ODowd's poor run continued. He became Santner's first victim of the evening in the 11th over. De Leede hit a few boundaries but was undone by a brilliant catch by Trent Boult at the long-off boundary as Ravindra got his first wicket. Colin Ackermann batted well and a partnership was brewing between him and Teja Nidamanuru. But a mix-up led to Nidamanuru getting run out for a score of 21.
Ackermann got to his half-century from 55 balls. Santner ended Ackermann's stay at the crease as he mistimed the reverse hit. He scored 69 runs from 73 balls. After his wicket, Edwards decided to target Santner but the spinner had the last laugh. He got out for a 27-ball 30. Santner rushed through their lineup to complete his fifer. He became the only third left-arm spinner after Shakib Al Hasan and Yuvraj Singh to take a five-wicket haul in ODI World Cup history. He surpassed Daniel Vettori as well. Later, Henry wrapped up the proceedings with a couple of wickets as Netherlands were bowled out for 223, losing the match by 99 runs.
MORE ON SPORTS TAK:
