Chennai, February 12
The Netherlands will look to blend batting explosiveness and bowling discipline for a victory against the dangerous United States of America, essential to keep their T20 World Cup Super Eights hopes alive during a Group A match here on Friday.
Having lost their tournament-opener against Pakistan narrowly, the Dutch bounced back in commanding fashion against Namibia in their previous outing.
Chasing 157, they sealed a seven-wicket win with two overs to spare to stay in contention for a berth in the next stage.
All-rounder Bas de Leede will be central to their campaign. He anchored the chase against Namibia with a 72 not out at a strike rate of 150 and also claimed two key wickets, including skipper Gerhard Erasmus, in the middle overs.
The Dutch possess explosive options at the top, but concerns linger over their middle and lower-order line-up.
That frailty was exposed against Pakistan, as they slumped from a comfortable 123/4 after 15 overs to 147 all out in 19.5 overs, losing the last six wickets for just 24 runs.
Max O’Dowd, known for his high back-lift and power-hitting, has endured quiet outings — 5 and 7 against Pakistan and Namibia respectively — and will be eager to rediscover his mojo.
Playing their seventh T20 World Cup, the Netherlands have grown into a formidable outfit and will back their bowling depth, particularly at the death, to test an American side which is still searching for its first win in this event.
The USA have shown promise with the ball but faltered with the bat and sloppy fielding too hampered them.
Against India, they reduced the fancied opponents to 77/6, only to let the game slip after skipper Suryakumar Yadav was dropped on 17 by Shubham Ranjane.
He went on to smash an unbeaten 84, lifting India to 161/9 before USA were restricted to 132/8.
Shadley van Schalkwyk has been brilliant in the powerplay, while tall leg-spinner Mohammad Mohsin has been impressive in applying the squeeze in the middle overs along with left-arm spinner Harmeet Singh.
Bowling has been USA’s strength, but they will certainly welcome some runs from top-order as well.
Skipper Monank Patel has made 0 against India and 3 against Pakistan, while wicketkeeper-opener Andries Gous has managed 6 and 13.
Gous was outstanding during the home World Cup two years ago and also smashed the ILT20’s highest individual score — 120 not out for eventual champions Desert Vipers and his form is crucial for their comeback.
USA will hope that their new-ball bowler Ali Khan has recovered from a niggle as his absence cost them heavily against Pakistan.
Teams (from)
Netherlands: Scott Edwards (c), Colin Ackermann, Noah Croes, Bas de Leede, Aryan Dutt, Fred Klaassen, Kyle Klein, Michael Levitt, Zach Lion-Cachet, Max O’Dowd, Logan van Beek, Timm van der Gugten, Roelof van der Merwe, Paul van Meekeren and Saqib Zulfiqar.
USA: Monank Patel (c), Jessy Singh, Andries Gous, Shehan Jayasuriya, Milind Kumar, Shayan Jahangir, Saiteja Mukkamala, Sanjay Krishnamurthi, Harmeet Singh, Nosthush Kenjige, Shadley Van Schalkwyk, Saurabh Netravalkar, Ali Khan, Mohammad Mohsin and Shubham Ranjane.
Match starts: 7pm IST.
PTI
