Table of Contents
Netherlands dominated the proceedings in the 34th match of the T20 World Cup 2022 against Zimbabwe and won the contest by five wickets. With the victory, the Dutch side also knocked out the Chevrons from the multi-team tournament.
Batting first, Zimbabwe never really got the momentum and kept losing wickets at regular intervals to eventually get bundled out for a mere 117 in 19.2 overs. Only Sikandar Raza (40) and Seam Williams (28) scored in double digits.
For the Netherlands, Paul van Meekeren was the pick of the bowler, taking a brilliant three-wicket haul while conceding 29 runs in his quota of 4 overs. Apart from Van Meekeran, Brandon Glover (2/29), Bas de Leede (2/14), and Logan van Beek (2/17) bagged two wickets apiece.
In response, Max O’Dowd led Netherland’s batting with a brilliant half-century to inspire his side to a five-wicket win. O’Dowd scored 52 from 47 deliveries, with the help of 8 fours and a six. Tom Cooper also chipped in with a valuable 29-ball 32, including one maximum and a couple of fours.
“Pretty scrappy to start, I was trying to adapt to the wicket as quickly as possible. There was a bit more pace in the wicket today. Obviously, Zimbabwe have some tall boys, and with that extra bounce, I took a bit too long to adapt to. I adapted well in the end to use the pace and bounce, I tried to bat as long as I could. When we bowled, there was a bit more movement in the wicket. When I went out, the wicket felt nice, I could trust the bounce. I guess we were pretty lucky,” said Max ODowd in the post-match presentation.
Here is how Twitter reacted:
A classy knock from the Netherlands opener 👏#T20WorldCup | #ZIMvNED | 📝: https://t.co/wGbASDoshR pic.twitter.com/vR5w4XS4Sy
— ICC (@ICC) November 2, 2022
It has gone all downhill for Zimbabwe after that great win against Pakistan. From a possible semifinal berth in sight, they are now scraping with Ireland for direct qualification for the 2024 edition.#ZIMvNED
— Deepu Narayanan (@deeputalks) November 2, 2022
First win for Netherlands in Super 12 in T20 World Cup 2022.
They have beaten Zimbabwe by 5 wickets.
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) November 2, 2022
Paul van Meekeren has got to be in the team of the tournament #T20WorldCup
— Tim Michell (@tim_michell) November 2, 2022
Netherlands have defeated Zimbabwe by five wickets.#ZIMvNED #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/T9PzbQKEAJ
— CricketTimes.com (@CricketTimesHQ) November 2, 2022
Netherlands beat Zimbabwe by 5 wickets! What an incredible victory! Their first in the Super 12s👏#T20WorldCup #ZIMvNED
— ThePoppingCrease (@PoppingCreaseSA) November 2, 2022
Performances from Paul Van Meekeren in this tournament have been outstanding. Might have secured some franchise T20 deals across the world. #T20WorldCup #NEDvZIM
— Ashutosh (@ashutosh_p_) November 2, 2022
MAX ODOWD 52 off 47 leads NETHERLANDS 🇳🇱 to 5 wickets victory over ZIMBABWE 🇿🇼,NED chased down the target of 118 with balls to spare
Advantage PAKISTAN 🇵🇰 in that case#ZIMvNED— Farooq Alam (@AlamFAR786) November 2, 2022
Max ODowd batting like –#ZIMvNED #T20WorldCup #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/b4ODvxRzpR
— Kaustubh Bhogle (@KaustubhKB13) November 2, 2022
Mr. Dependable for Netherland in their batting – Max ODowd 🔥…well played
— Coverdrive (@coverdrive04) November 2, 2022