Netherlands Defeat 362 for 7 (Bikramjit 110, Baresi 97, Bilal 3-75) Oman 246 for 6 by DLS by 74 runs (Ayan 105*, Shoaib 46, Dutt 3-31)
Having scored 246 for 6 in 44 overs, Ion was at the crease as play began in poor light. Opting to bat and posting 362 for 7 in their 48-over game, the Dutch needed to restrict Oman to 242 runs to ensure their NRR went over Scotland. This would have been crucial in the event of a three-way tie for second place.
That can only happen if Scotland beat Zimbabwe tomorrow and the Netherlands beat Scotland. As things stand, even if Scotland win tomorrow, the Dutch will need to beat Scotland by a huge margin to jump into the NRR. If Scotland win tomorrow, the Dutch will be eliminated.
Their bowlers then gave Oman a dream start by reducing them to 102 for 4, with Ayan and Shoaib combining for their poor stand, which would have been particularly disappointing given Ayan was dropped three times on 12, 20 and 33. – during his innings. While all three were in varying degrees of difficulty, it is distressing that none were taken.
It never left Ion’s tongue, which included 11 fours and two sixes – one a luxurious lofted straight drive, the other a powerful pick-up over long-on. His control percentage of 77% however highlights another area where the Dutch can feel unlucky.
Conceding a total of 36 extras, including 23 wides, Oman actually lost the game. In a game reduced to two overs per side, Oman bowled almost four extra overs. It came with a poor ground fielding effort that gave away several easy singles and twos – all of which added up.
However, credit must be given to the Dutch who set the benchmark in the entire tournament in terms of runs between the wickets. Against a better fielding side, Sri Lanka, this aggression worked to their disadvantage at times, but they managed to gain every inch against Oman.
It was the foundation of an innings that began with an opening stand of 117 off 132 balls and culminated in that devastating death over attack. In between Singh-Baresi had 80 off 72 and then when Singh fell short of his century, Baresi went on to make successive stands of 30, 55 and 57 with Scott Edwards, de Leete and Zulfikar.
No bowler had a strike rate of less than 100 runs against him, although he particularly favored the spin of Akib Ilyas – the injured Zeeshan Maqsood and Ayan. The latter is a flat smoot over long-off. He scored 97 runs off 65 balls including 10 fours and 3 sixes.
The Dutch played well in the game state as well, with quick runs being the order of the day as De Leete and Zulfiqar lifted both Deja Nidamanur. The pair scored 72 runs off just 36 balls. While that was enough to keep them in with a chance of qualification, they now have to hope Scotland will do their part tomorrow.
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