The cricket fans all over the world were left surprised and shocked yesterday when Netherlands defeated the mighty South Africans and registered their first win in the ODI World Cup. The match was played at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamshala, which is one of the most beautiful stadiums of the world.
The match got a little delayed due to rain and overs were reduced to 43 from 50. The South African skipper Temba Bavuma won the toss and put Netherlands to bat first which was a good decision as South African bowlers bowled brilliantly and there was a time when everybody felt that the Netherlands team would get out within 200 runs. However, the Netherlands skipper Scott Edwards had different plans and he countered the Proteas bowlers effectively and played an unbeaten knock of 78 runs (69 balls, 10 fours & 1 six). Scott was well-supported by Roelof van der Merwe and Aryan Dutt as both of them played quick knocks of (29 runs, 19 balls, 3 fours & 1 six) and (23* runs, 9 balls, 3 sixes), respectively.
Netherlands managed to put up a competitive total of 245/8 in their 43 overs which was not difficult for the Proteas to chase but they had a very bad start as their in-form batter Quinton de Kock got out for 20 runs and the skipper Temba Bavuma (16 runs) also failed to make a big score.
Wickets kept falling regularly as no South African batter was able to play a winning knock, though David Miller (43 runs, 52 balls, 4 balls,1 six) and Keshav Maharaj (40 runs, 37 balls, 5 fours & 1 six) played useful knocks yet it was not enough and the whole team got out for 207 runs.
As Netherlands scripted history by defeating South Africa by 38 runs, X was flooded with reactions and here are some selected tweets:
Wow ! What an effort by the Dutch.
So much to like about the way they go about their business. Scott Edwards was sensational in the last 10 overs with the bat and then the Netherlands’ bowlers did the job in style. #NEDvsSA pic.twitter.com/kYpV0Rby0A— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) October 17, 2023
https://twitter.com/aditisinghSA/status/1714334824717062212
Netherlands scripted one of the greatest stories in cricket.
After the World Cup qualifiers, they didn't have any ODI match before World Cup, came to India early for practice, they called up net bowlers from different states, lost to Karnataka in warm up games, the journey… pic.twitter.com/uwUeacC4Kl
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) October 17, 2023
Netherland Fans right now#NEDvSA | #NEDvsSA | #SAvsNED pic.twitter.com/TefGb1YPse
— Nawaz 🏏 (@Rnawaz1888) October 17, 2023
https://twitter.com/1m_lucifer45/status/1714452449703166135
https://twitter.com/shrey_0001/status/1714329432205508922
https://twitter.com/MahadCricket/status/1714597732210315482
Few days back Netherland boys were dancing to Dharamsala traditional Nati dance.
Today South Africa danced to their tunes.
Such a lovely bunch of Guys embracing Indian culture with ease#SAvsNED #NEDvsSA pic.twitter.com/1zmaZHQSaI— ICT Fan (@Delphy06) October 17, 2023
Afgani and Dutch💝
This world cup is really giving us goosebumps…#NEDvsSA #SAvsNED #Dutch #Afganistan #WorldCup2023 #CricketWorldCup #NEDvSA pic.twitter.com/plSZ6fAdhI— Ayodhya P Singh (@AyodhyaPS) October 17, 2023
Dil Dil Netherlands
Jaan Jaan Netherlands ❤#SAvsNED— Nayab🇵🇸 (@NayabAli97) October 17, 2023
The emotions when you defy the odds 🤩#CWC23 has already seen two crazy upsets #cwc2023 #SAvsNED #upset pic.twitter.com/vQUITayWCu
— 𝐌𝐮𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐝 𝐀𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐝🦅🇵🇰 (@Boss56Ahmed) October 17, 2023
#NEDvsSA.
Congratulations Netherlands. pic.twitter.com/PHoBdoLBNU— Yuvraj Chavan🇮🇳 (@Yuvrajchavan_) October 17, 2023
The skipper Temba Bavuma was quite hurt with his team’s performance and it was not just batting but their fielding was also below the mark and how pathetic their bowling was can be understood by the fact that they gave 32 extra runs which included 21 wides and 1 no ball.
Hopefully, South Africa will learn from their mistakes that they made in this match. Congratulations Netherlands!
