ICC World Cup Qualifiers 2023: West Indies Lose To Netherlands in Super Over

The exciting Group A encounter between West Indies and Netherlands ended in a high-scoring tie. To decide the winner, the teams then faced off in a super-over. Logan van Beek pulled off a class display with the willow against Jason Holder.

He followed up his 28 off 14 at the end of the Dutch innings, with a 30 from six balls in the Super Over. He clubbed 4, 6, 4, 6, 6 and 4 off Holder’s over. Nicholas Pooran wasn’t allowed to participate in the Super Over because of his absence from the field for an extended period of time. Johnson Charles and Shai Hope took strike.

It was West Indies’ nemesis van Beek, who starred with the ball as well and gave away merely eight runs, while also picking two wickets, to secure a famous Dutch win. In the Netherlands innings, Vikramjit Singh and Max O’Dowd gave the Dutch courage with a positive start.

They added 76 runs for the first wicket within the first 11 overs. Only the discipline of Jason Holder prevented them from going at an even higher scoring rate.

Finally, it was Roston Chase who brought West Indies success with the ball. A mistimed reverse sweep from O’Dowd ended up in the hands of the short third man in the 11th over. In his very next over, Chase also accounted for Singh, who went for a massive heave but ended up placing the ball into the hands of Nicholas Pooran at deep mid-wicket.

Wesley Barresi and Bas de Leede stitched a 38-run stand to stabilise the Dutch innings. Barresi eventually fell in the 22nd over, while trying to nudge a Akeal Hosein delivery behind the wicket. At the 25-over mark, the Netherlands still had recognized batters at the wicket, but the asking rate had crept to over nine runs an over.

Dutch lost another wicket in the 30th over in the form of de Leede (33), but Teja Nidamanuru and Scott Edwards came together to give the innings a much needed boost. At the back of attacking shots from the duo, Netherlands picked up the scoring rate, and made the most of overs 31-40. They added 88 runs in this period.

Teja unleashed a fine set of cricketing strokes in the upcoming overs to take the lead in run-scoring. He brought up his century off three consecutive fours. This was his second hundred and came off merely 68 balls.

Just when it seemed like the scales were shifting in favour of the Dutch, their skipper nudged a ball straight back to Chase in the 45th over. This caught and bowled dismissal brought an end to their enterprising 143-run stand. West Indies then clawed their way back into the game with the ball. Holder’s 46th over saw the fall of Saqib Zulfiqar and Nidamanuru (111).

However, the game saw another turn with the eighth-wicket stand between Aryan Dutt and Logan van Beek. They added 39 runs off 18 balls, 21 off which came in the 49th over delivered by Chase, to bring the equation down to nine runs off the last over.

Netherlands got off to a flyer as a four flew off the bat of van Beek. However, Alzarri struck back, giving only two runs off the next three balls while also taking the wicket of Aryan Dutt. However, it seemed that the game had gone Netherlands’ way, when van Beek had taken two off the second last ball. Requiring only one to win, the Dutch batter failed to clear the in-field and was caught by Holder.

During the West Indies innings, an imperious ton from Pooran, along with crucial knocks from Brandon King, Johnson Charles, Shai Hope and Keemo Paul, helped West Indies post a solid total against Netherlands.

The new opening pair of Brandon King and Johnson Charles unleashed a flurry of fours in the first powerplay. They hit as many as 13 boundaries in this period, even as the Dutch bowlers struggled with their lines and lengths.

Together they added 101 runs for the first wicket before Charles (54) was trapped lbw by Vivian Kingma. However, King kept going from the other end and got decent support from Shamarh Brooks. He brought up his fifty in the 22nd over.

West Indies were rocked by twin strikes from Saqib Zulfiqar in the 27th and 29th overs. After losing their set batters, King (76) and Brooks (25), the Men in Maroon were forced into a reconstruction phase. Skipper Shai Hope and Nicholas Pooran expertly guided them through this period, and West Indies were among runs again in no time. Their century partnership came off merely 73 balls.

Bas de Leede and Logan van Beek then gave the Dutch supporters something to cheer about with three quick strikes in the space of 15 balls. However, guided by Pooran, West Indies managed to cross 350. Keemo Paul too played his role with a lively 46 from 25.

Pooran scored his third ODI hundred during this innings. His century came off merely 63 balls, and was the third-fastest for West Indies in ODIs. In the morning, Scott Edwards won the toss and decided to bowl first. Both sides made two changes each.

With inputs from ICC