Scotland vs. Netherlands, Super Sixes, Game 8
The Netherlands, who defeated Scotland by four wickets in a crucial Qualifiers match at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo on Thursday (July 6), secured a World Cup berth thanks to a brilliant 123 off 92 and a five-wicket haul from Bas de Leede.
Richie Berrington and Brandon McMullen combined for a 137-run stand to enable Scotland to score a respectable 277/9. At 163/5 in the 31st over, the Netherlands were having trouble surpassing Scotland’s net run rate, which required them to reach the mark in 44 overs. The Netherlands completed the chase in 42.5 overs, but the 23-year-old de Leede played an outstanding innings, accelerating from 50 off 55 to 73 more runs off just 37 balls.
De Leede, who had previously contributed significantly with the ball by taking 5 for 52, became just the fourth player to record both a five-wicket haul and a century in an ODI.
Vikramjit Singh and Max O’Dowd added 65 runs for the first wicket, helping the Netherlands get off to a strong start in the chase. But when O’Dowd was caught leg-before by Michael Leask, the collaboration came to an end when a review was unable to save him.
Vikramjit was again defeated by Leask in his subsequent over, and once more the DRS was unable to save the batter, who left after scoring a solid 40. Wesley Barresi and de Leede made an effort to develop a partnership, but their efforts were unsuccessful as the former was dismissed by McMullen for 11 and Teja Nidamanuru was also dismissed by Chris Greaves in his first over, leaving the Netherlands at 108/4.
De Leede and Scott Edwards continued their tandem past 50 and attempted to restart the pursuit. However, Scotland once more did not permit a stand to last for very long as Mark Watt eventually had Edwards out by lbw for 25. De Leede scored over 50, but the Netherlands still faced pressure since they needed to score 102 runs in 10 overs to travel to India. De Leede and Saqib Zulfiqar appeared committed to achieving that goal as they reduced the total to 60 off six overs to meet the qualifying score.
De Leede reached his first ODI hundred in the 41st over after hitting two consecutive sixes off Watt, and Zulfiqar finished the over by hitting another six to get 22 runs. The final solution was 23 in three overs. With two more overs remaining, De Leede’s two sixes off McMullen reduced the score to three. The Netherlands won the chase to clinch their first World Cup berth since 2011, which was also staged in India, and Zulfiqar, who played a significant role by participating in a 113-run stand with the centurion, continued until the end.
Prior to this, Scotland lost Matthew Cross for a duck in the first over Logan van Beek bowled after being put to bat. Bas de Leede terminated Christopher McBride for 32, ending a potential alliance between him and McMullen. Scotland dropped to 64/3 in the 15th over after George Munsey succumbed to the same bowler shortly after.
But then McMullen and captain Berrington teamed up and added 137 to create a strong partnership for the fourth wicket that laid the groundwork for Scotland’s high total. Berrington sputtered for a time, but McMullen made sure there were regular boundaries and even reached fifty with a six over extra cover from Ryan Klein. When the half-century partnership was reached, Berrington’s contribution was only 8 runs, but he quickly took up the pace and quickly brought up the century stand with a straight six off Vikramjit Singh.
With a boundary off van Beek, McMullen reached his second ODI century and increased his total of fours to 11, in addition to three sixes, before being caught behind by Klein. Michael Leask became Klein’s second wicket, and Berrington was bowled by de Leede, causing Scotland to lose two more wickets. Although Tomas Mackintosh’s 28-ball 38 not out, which included two fours in the final over bowled by Klein, propelled Scotland nearly to the 280-mark, de Leede concluded with a five-wicket haul, taking two in the 49th over.
