DHARAMSALA, India, (Reuters) – The Netherlands caused a stunning upset by beating South Africa by 38 runs in a rain-shortened match to inflict a first defeat on the Proteas in the ongoing 50-overs World Cup in Dharamsala on Tuesday.
Beaten in their previous two matches, the plucky Dutch side overcame a top-order collapse to post a competitive 245-8 in the 43-overs-a-side contest.
Scott Edwards smashed a captain’s knock of 78 not out to rescue the Netherlands, who were reeling at 82-5 in the 21st over but went on to post a decent total.
South Africa suffered a collapse of their own when they began their chase and Temba Bavuma’s side were eventually bundled out for 207 en route to their first defeat in their opening three matches.
David Miller (43) and Keshav Maharaj (40) offered some resistance but the Netherlands, the only non-test playing nation in the tournament, could not be denied.
“Proud of the group. Putting in that performance and being able to play my part is nice,” said Edwards, who was named player of the match.
“In the last couple of games our issue has been too many of our middle order being out before the end of the game.
“So I wanted to take it deep and hope a couple guys around me would chip in.”
Two days after Afghanistan humbled defending champions England in New Delhi, the Netherlands earned their moment of glory though there were no early signs that it was on the cards.
South Africa had swept aside Sri Lanka and Australia in their first two matches and their bowlers blew away the Netherlands top order after Temba Bavuma won the toss and elected to field.
Kagiso Rabada dismissed Vikramjit Singh for two and South Africa made smart use of reviews to get rid of Max O’Dowd (18) and Bas de Leede (two).
The Netherlands lost the top half of their batting order by the 21st over before Edwards combined with Roelof van der Merwe to plunder 64 runs off 37 balls and take his side past the 200-mark. Aryan Dutt smacked three sixes in his 23 not out to provide the late flourish.
After the spirited fightback in the second half of their innings, the Netherlands players had a spring in their step when they returned to defend the total.
From 35 for no loss in the eighth over, South Africa slumped to 44-4 in the 12th over and the lack of partnerships hurt Bavuma’s team who eventually folded for 207 with one ball left in their innings.
Miller was South Africa’s last hope and his dismissal in the 31st over effectively sealed the match in the Netherlands’ favour.
Down the order, Maharaj threw his bat around but the match had slipped away from South Africa by then.
“At 112-6 we didn’t want to let them get over 200 and we definitely dropped the ball there,” Bavuma said after the loss.
“We were still confident that we could chase down the score but we didn’t get partnerships and we didn’t adapt to the double spin in the powerplay.”
