All-round De Leede powers Netherlands to comfortable win

Netherlands shrugged off their heartbreaking loss to Pakistan in their previous T20 World Cup game with a commanding win over Namibia in Delhi on Tuesday (February 10). An all-round display from Bas de Leede, who picked up two important wickets with the ball before starring in the chase with an unbeaten 72, saw Netherlands cruise to a seven-wicket victory.

Opting to bowl first, Netherlands managed to contain Namibia early. The first three overs yielded only 13 runs for the loss of Louren Steenkamp who was out stumped off Aryan Dutt after surviving an early run-out chance. While Dutt bowled a tight spell, the impetus for Namibia came at the other end with Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton and Jan Frylinck striking a couple of sixes and fours to take them to 40/1 at the end of the PowerPlay.

Netherlands managed to string together a few more quiet overs following the PowerPlay, leading to a 50-run partnership being broken with Frylinck's dismissal in the 10th over. Loftie-Eaton and captain Gerhard Erasmus shared a brisk 35-run stand, hitting three fours and two sixes in the space of two overs but it ended with the latter holing out in the 13th over.

Namibia struggled to sustain the momentum thereafter. After a reprieve and a run-out scare off the same ball, Loftie-Eaton fell in the 15th over. JJ Smit looked threatening when he struck consecutive sixes off Roelof van der Merwe in the 16th over but he was bowled by Bas de Leede in the following over. Namibia slipped from 127-4 to 156-8 with the last four overs yielding 31 runs.

In reply, Max O'Dowd fell early but Michael Levitt took the attack to Namibia. He struck three sixes in his 15-ball 28 before being undone in the sixth over. The Netherlands reached 50/2 by the end of the PowerPlay, remaining steadfast in pursuit of the target.

It was followed then by a defining 70-run partnership between de Leede and Colin Ackermann. The duo began watchfully but ensured Netherlands never really fell afoul of the asking rate. They unfurled a range of strokes starting in the 11th over, leaving Namibia to rue dropping Ackermann in just the previous over.

They were separated by Ackermann's dismissal in the 14th over but de Leede carried on unfazed, bringing up a 38-ball fifty two overs later. De Leede and Scott Edwards ensured that there were no further hiccups as a 21-run 18th over saw Netherlands seal an emphatic win with seven wickets and two overs to spare.

Brief Scores: Namibia 156-8 in 20 overs (Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton 42, JJ Smit 22; Logan van Beek 2-13, Bas de Leede 2-20) lost to Netherlands 159/3 (Bas de Leede 72*, Colin Ackermann 32; Bernard Scholtz 1-27) by 7 wickets