ICC T20 World Cup, Netherlands beat Namibia: Key stats
Netherlands bested Namibia by five wickets to claim their second successive win in the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup on Tuesday. Openers Vikramjit Singh (39) and Max O'Dowd (35) truncated the 122-run chase (122/5). Earlier, Jan Frylinck's lone show (43) guided Namibia to 121/6. Right-arm medium Bas de Leede (2/18) and speedster Paul van Meekeren (1/18) deserve credit for putting Namibia under the cosh.
How did the match pan out?
Opting to bat, Namibia had a sluggish start and were brought down to 32/3 in Powerplay. They failed to change gears thereafter, with the scorecard reading 63/4 in 11.2 overs. Frylinck's heroics eventually saw them reach a 120-plus total. Meanwhile, it was an all-round effort from the Namibian bowlers. Later, O'Dowd and Singh paved the foundation before de Leede (30*) steered them home.
Frylinck's heroics go in vain
Frylinck dished out a crunch 48-ball 43, hitting two boundaries. He struck just a four and a six before mistiming a wide off-cutter of Leede straight to van Meekeren at long-on. Frylinck, who bowls left-arm quick, then claimed 1/16 in four overs, including a maiden. Notably, he had whacked a crisp 28-ball 44 in the last game against Sri Lanka, besides clipping two wickets.
A unique record for Netherlands
As per Kausthub Gudipati, this is the first time Netherlands have won back-to-back matches in a World Cup (ODI/T20I). What's interesting is that de Leede has the best bowling figures in both fixtures.
Netherlands extend their lead over Namibia
Interestingly, it was Netherlands' only second win over Namibia in 20-over cricket. They now own a 2-1 win-loss record against their rivals. Their maiden meet was in 2019, wherein the Dutch handed a 44-run drubbing to their rivals. Netherlands then suffered a six-wicket defeat in the 2021 T20 WC before upping their win record this time around.
Netherlands better their record in T20 World Cup
Netherlands' two-match unbeaten streak has helped them better their T20 WC record to 7-9, besides a no-result against Oman. Interestingly, the Dutch started their T20 WC journey with a four-wicket win against hosts England in 2009. They hammered the Three Lions by a whopping 45 runs in the 2014 edition. It remains their biggest win in terms of runs in the T20 tournament.
O'Dowd, de Leede clock these numbers
O'Dowd managed a 35-ball 35, hitting a four and a six each. He now holds 1,405 runs at 29.27, striking at 123.35. De Leede's 30-ball 30* has steered him past 550 T20I runs (561) at 35.06. On the bowling front, he now owns 19 wickets at 16.68. Meanwhile, Singh scored his career-best score in the format (31-ball 39), hitting three fours and two sixes.
Netherlands go atop the Group A standings
Netherlands are now atop the Group A table in the ICC T20 World Cup. They claimed their second consecutive win in the tournament, having beaten UAE by three wickets. Meanwhile, Namibia, UAE, and Sri Lanka trail them in the points table. The Dutch are one of the hot favorites from Group A and will play their last Group stage game against SL on Thursday.
