An in-form New Zealand will take on a determined Netherlands in their second encounter of the ODI World Cup 2023. This will only be the second time two sides have gone up against each other in the ODI World Cup. Their last clash was in the 1996 World Cup on Indian soil.
Kiwis’ dominating 1996 WC win
After winning the toss, New Zealand skipper Lee Germon elected to bat first. The Netherlands got an early breakthrough as Nathan Astle got run out for a duck. Craig Spearman and Stephen Fleming shared a 116-run partnership. It was Steve Lubbers who broke the partnership and dismissed Spearman and Fleming for 68 and 66 respectively. Lubbers dismissed Roger Twose as well. Half-centuries from Chris Cairns and Adam Parore set a platform for a big total. Despite losing eight wickets, the Kiwis posted 307/8 in Vadodara.
In the run chase, the Netherlands never looked in control. Peter Cantrell anchored the innings but his strike rate was slightly above 50. Roland Lefebvre and Cantrell contributed with 45-run knocks. However, the Dutch side could not get anywhere near the target and posted 188/7 on the board. New Zealand won the match by a comfortable margin of 119 runs. Chris Harris was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets. Even Fleming rolled his arm and managed to get a wicket via stumping.
Their opening encounters
Decades later, the Netherlands lack in the ability to stitch big partnerships in the middle overs. The same happened in their World Cup 2023 opening encounter against Pakistan on October 6 in Hyderabad. After bowling out Babar Azam's Pakistan for 286 but lost control in the run chase and got all out for 205. Bas de Leede stood out of the lot with a four-fer followed by a 67-run knock.
On the other hand, New Zealand were sensational against defending champions England in Ahmedabad. Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra went berserk and chased down 283 with 13.4 overs to spare. The record-breaking unbeaten 273-run partnership gave England bowlers no chance to make a comeback as they lost by nine wickets.
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