A team with a vision and limited resources. Playing against a team with a huge fan base and massive hype. The Netherlands blew Bangladesh on the hallowed ground of Eden Gardens. The Dutch had plenty of resilience throughout the tournament, and Bangladesh had no answer to their indomitable spirit and unwavering determination. It was a memorable win nonetheless from the boys from a nation that is revered for its footballing prowess. The Bangladeshi fans back at home might be wondering what has happened to a team that usually looks untouchable in Mirpur. A crushing defeat for a country that lives and breathes cricket 24/7.

Team Lineups

Bangladesh decided to leave Nasum Ahmed from their playing eleven after the left arm struggled with the ball in hand. Taskin Ahmed came in for Hasan Mahmud, who has been leaking runs left, right, and center. The Dutch management called in their veteran batter and former captain Wesley Baresi to their team. Teja Nidamanuru missed out to accommodate Baresi. 

Bangladesh 

1. Liton Das 2. Tanzid Hasan 3. Mehidy Hasan 4. Najmul Hossain Shanto 5. Shakib Al Hasan (Cap.) 6. Mushfiqur Rahim (WK) 7. Mahmudullah 8. Mahedi Hasan 9. Taskin Ahmed 10. Mustafizur Rahman 11. Shoriful Islam

Netherlands

1. Vikramjit Singh 2. Max O’Dowd 3. Wesley Barresi 4. Colin Ackermann 5. Scott Edwards (Cap.) (WK) 6. Bas de Leede 7. Sybrand Engelbrecht 8. Logan van Beek 9. Shariz Ahmed 10. Aryan Dutt 11. Paul van Meekeren

The Netherlands captain, Scott Edwards, won the coin toss and decided to bat first on a slightly tricky wicket. The pitch on the Eden Gardens ground can be two-paced at times, with the ball coming late to the bat. Despite this nature, once the batsman gets set in the middle, it would be easier for him to pick up quick runs. Being overly aggressive can be deadly on a surface like this. 

Captaincy & Tactics

Bangladeshi bowlers dominated the early proceedings by varying their lengths and pace. The Dutch top order failed to make their mark on the game and got out cheaply to put pressure on the middle order. Shakib Al Hasan used his spinners wisely to keep the run rate in check. Shoriful Islam used his 6 feet 3 inches frame to generate a good bounce off the surface. Taskin Ahmed did the same at a quicker pace, which created recurrent problems for the Dutch batsmen.

Scott Edwards played a captain’s knock to guide his country to safe waters. The right-handed Australian resident was patient and looked for the aberrations in line and length. Sybrand Engelbrecht approached the game with caution and helped the score get past the 220 mark with 3 boundaries. 

The Bangladeshis seemed to have an entirely different game plan from the Netherlands. They tried to attack from the first ball of the innings, which led to their downfall. They lost their first six batters with the score at 70, and the counter-punching lower order lifted the score above 140. The Dutch bowlers were brilliant with their stock deliveries, cutters, and short-pitched deliveries.  

Bas de Leede might take some time to forget his horrific bowling performance at the hands of Glenn Maxwell, but he performed brilliantly by mixing up his face. The Dutch bowlers took the pace of the white ball to induce the batsmen to play false strokes. They also generated good bounce off the docile Kolkata track. 

Batting Analysis

The Netherlands had an awful start with the bat after losing their opening pair early on. Despite a brief counter from Wesley Barresi, his run-a-ball 41 was the solitary display of dominance by a Netherlands batter against the disciplined Bangladeshi attack. Remarkably, it was not until the penultimate over of the innings that the Netherlands finally managed to hit their first six.

Edwards was once again assigned the responsibility to revive his team’s batting lineup, initially partnering with de Leede and later with Sybrand Engelbrecht. Together with de Leede, he managed to accumulate 44 runs off 74 deliveries, while he exhibited a slightly faster performance alongside Engelbrecht, scoring 78 runs off 105 balls.

During these partnerships, there were no extraordinary moments or aggressive stroke plays observed. The sole purpose was to maintain a steady innings and bat for as long as possible. This strategy was understandably adopted as Edwards came to bat when his team was in a precarious position of 63 for 3, soon deteriorating to 63 for 4.

However, after persevering for 30 overs, Edwards succeeded in elevating the team’s score to a comparatively respectable 185 for 6. Subsequently, some late hitting contributed to reaching a more competitive total for the team.

Bangladesh lost both of their openers within the first 6 overs of the powerplay; Liton Das departed after an uneasy 12-ball stay which yielded only 3 runs. Tanzid Hasan scored three boundaries but failed to capitalize by getting out cheaply on 16. 

Mehidy Hasan has already batted at multiple positions in this tournament, and he was the one who started counterpunching. His six-over long-on from Colin Ackermann was the only show of Bangladeshi intent during the early overs.

Shakib Al Hasan is having a nightmare with the bat in this tournament; he could manage only five before edging one to the keeper. Mushfiqur Rahim was bowled through the gate by a good-length delivery by van Meekeren as Bangladesh stumbled to 70 for 6. 

Mahmudullah has been the solitary shining light on the Bangladesh scorecard, but even he got out after scoring 20. Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman hit a few boundaries between them to entertain the 30 thousand Bangladeshi crowd who crossed the border to see their team in action. But they left with heavy hearts as Bangladesh’s semi-final dream faded before their eyes. 

Bowling Analysis

Paul van Meekeren was excellent once again with his wide range of deliveries that threatened the opposition batsmen. He picked up four wickets, including the big fishes Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahman. Bas de Leede, unfortunately, will forever be remembered as the bowler who gave away a record 115 runs against Australia, but he bowled magnificently this time out. He picked up Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Mahmudullah – the only two who were trying to counterattack among the Bangladeshi failures.

It takes courage to bowl spin inside the powerplay overs, and Aryan Dutt has plenty of it. The off-spinner picked up the wicket of Liton Das by lowering his pace. He bowled two maiden overs to stifle the run chase in the powerplay overs. 

It is a true testament to the tremendous effort put in by Bangladesh’s bowlers that they managed to restrict their opponents to a score of 229. The impressive performance began with Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful Islam inflicting early damage, dismissing opener Vikramjit Singh and Max O’Dowd within the first three overs. This left the Dutch team in a vulnerable position, struggling at a predicament of 4 for 2.

However, the Netherlands faced another setback when their well-established batsmen, Barresi and Colin Ackermann, were dismissed in quick succession by Mustafizur Rahman and Shakib. This marked the turning point as the spinners gradually tightened their grip, with Shakib, Mehidy, and Mahedi Hasan conceding no more than four runs per over during the middle phase of the innings. Notably, it was only in the final over that Netherlands displayed some aggression against the spinners, managing to score 17 runs off Mahedi.

Fielding Analysis

The Netherlands fielding was top-notch to help the Dutch defend a decent total. Edwards batted for a long period of time, but there was no sign of his long exposure out in the field. He kept the wicket unerringly and claimed four catches. The Dutch were fleet-footed across the ground and prevented boundaries throughout the innings. They might be on the world-class level, but the determination to put their bodies on the line for the country was pleasant to see. 

The Bangladesh team has looked clueless on this campaign. The fielders dropped Scott Edwards twice when the Dutch skipper was still on 0. There were a lot of misfieldings and lack of communication on the outfield. The team should find solutions fast if they want to perform better in the upcoming games. 

Key Performances

Paul van Meekeren was the star of the show with a four-wicket haul for 23 runs in an 8-over spell of his dreams. Mustafiqur Rahman was also stingy, with only 36 runs from his 10 overs, and claimed two scalps. Mehidy Hasan picked two wickets with a fine display of spin bowling; Taskin Ahmed also got two by hitting the deck hard. Bas de Leede left his nightmarish spell to Maxwell in the past, as he got 2 wickets for 25. 

On a day where batting seemed to be one of the toughest jobs in sports, Scott Edwards stood strong with a fighting-infused innings of 68 runs. Veteran Wesley Baresi entertained the small Dutch crowd in Kolkata with a run-a-ball 41. Sybrand Engelbrecht’s patient 35 helped the Netherlands set a decent target for Bangladesh. 

The Bangladeshi batting order followed the regular script of crumbling under pressure. The versatile Mehidy Hasan came at no. 3 and top scored with 35 from 40 runs. In form, Mahmudullah and Mustafizur both scored 20; none of the eight other batsmen even got to the 20 mark. It was a tournament to forget with batting collapses, wayward bowling, and ordinary fielding collapses for the so-called “Tigers’. ‘

Turning Point

Scott Edwards came out to bat with the score at 63/3 after Wesley Barresi was the latest batsman to return to the hut. When Edwards got out as the sixth batsman, the Netherlands score was at 185. The innings could be labeled as one of the finest in Dutch history. 

Edwards was quick with his feet against spin and showed cricketing nous by playing back foot shots against the pace attack. He scored 13 runs from pull shots on a difficult surface. Netherlands innings could have been packed within the 180 mark had Edwards not been there. His innings gave them the drive and purpose to claim a famous victory. 

Match Result

The Netherlands crushed Bangladesh by a massive margin of 87 runs to take home all two points and their second victory in this tournament. 

Player of the Match

Paul van Meekeren won the Best Player of the Match award with his figures of 4/23 that demolished the Bangladeshi batting lineup. 

Brief Scorecard

Match Highlights

https://youtu.be/dM41-MaDBlo?si=NlLNp2jpOMTEr3zd

Match Wrap-Up

It was another spirited show by the men from Europe who are becoming the giant killers of this competition. Bangladesh did not look like a quality side, though, with the country failing to deliver once again despite massive hype surrounding them. It was a spirited Dutch collective performance to secure all two points in a relatively easy manner. The Netherlands would look to win three games in a World Cup campaign for the first time ever when they face Afghanistan on Friday. Bangladesh will clash with Pakistan on Tuesday, with both teams looking for an encouraging win that would give life to their respective campaigns. 

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