T20 World Cup: Netherlands secure nervy victory over Namibia
- Published
Singh top scores for victorious Netherlands
ICC Men's T20 World Cup, GMHBA Stadium, Geelong |
Namibia 121-6 (20 overs): Frylinck 43 (48); De Leede 2-18 |
Netherlands 122-5 (20 overs): Singh 39, O'Dowd 35; Smit 2-24 |
Netherlands won by five wickets |
The Netherlands edged closer to a place in the Super 12s at the Men's T20 World Cup after a nervy five-wicket victory over Namibia.
Bas de Leede hit an unbeaten 30 from 30 balls to help the Netherlands over the line for their second win of the tournament with three balls to spare.
Jan Frylinck had earlier top-scored with 48 as Namibia limped to 121-6.
In Tuesday's other match, Sri Lanka secured their first win with a 79-run victory over United Arab Emirates.
It means Netherlands top Group A going into the final round of matches, with Namibia second ahead of Sri Lanka courtesy of their superior net run-rate.
The Netherlands will seal their place in the Super 12s with victory over Sri Lanka on Thursday (05:00 BST), before Namibia take on UAE (09:00).
The top two sides from each group will qualify for the Super 12s (two groups of six), which start on 22 October. The winner of Group A and runner-up from Group B will face England.
De Leede stars with bat and ball
After stunning former champions Sri Lanka on Sunday, this was a reality check for Namibia who paid the price for a sluggish batting performance.
There were just six fours and one six in their entire innings, going 10 overs without clearing the rope at one stage.
Frylinck led a recovery after Namibia were reduced to 63-4 but he failed to accelerate.
The decision to keep big hitters JJ Smit and David Wiese down the order also backfired, with the duo facing just nine balls between them at the end of the innings.
The Netherlands were then aggressive with the bat from the off, with Vikram Singh smashing three fours and two huge sixes in the powerplay as he and fellow opener Max O'Dowd (35) put on 59 for the opening wicket.
They looked to be cruising to victory at 91-1, but lost four wickets in 18 balls to slump to 102-5 after 16.4 overs as Namibia sensed a dramatic comeback.
But De Leede kept his composure as Netherlands won in the final over for the second successive match.
"We just lost wickets at bad times and I think looking forward to the Sri Lanka game we can't afford to do that, so that is something we will learn as a team," said De Leede, who also took 2-18 with the ball to earn the Player of the Match award.
"The self-belief has always been there but it is nice to have two tight games go your way. It maybe opens up a bit more freedom for the boys."