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First T20s, now ODIs: Another Dutch lesson for high-flying South Africa
Almost a year after their T20 World Cup upset, South Africa crash to inspired Dutch bowling
In the end, there can be no plausible explanation to what went down at Dharamsala. South Africa are heavyweights, Netherlands are an associate nation.
Three months ago, on the heels of qualifying for the World Cup, Netherlands coach Ryan Cook made an impassioned plea for sponsorship and if possible, a couple of warmup matches in India. When they arrived, Netherlands had to send feelers for net bowlers. Ten thousand applied, four made the cut, including a food delivery associate.
‘David and Goliath’ may be too generic a comparison to begin with. None of that would matter though, because the 17th day of October from now on will forever be remembered as the day Netherlands beat South Africa at an ODI World Cup.
It isn’t an unfamiliar feeling for the Dutch. Only last November had they stunned South Africa at Adelaide in the T20 World Cup. But this was thought to be too big and complicated a format for South Africa to be found out. Rain curtailed this game to a 43 overs per side affair besides sprucing up the pitch.
Choosing to field, South Africa made early inroads too. But Netherlands persevered through captain Scott Edwards—who hammered an unbeaten 78 to take his team 245/8 from 140/7—helped by cameos from Roelof van der Merwe and Aryan Dutt. Then with the ball, van der Merwe—playing his country of birth—pegged back Temba Bavuma’s middle stump after Quinton de Kock was caught off a top edge. Two more quick wickets in the form of Aiden Markram and Rassie van der Dussen and South Africa were quickly reduced to 44/4.
Heinrich Klaasen fought his way to a run-a-ball 28, forging an innings-stabilising 45-run stand with David Miller till he pulled Logan van Beek straight and flat to Vikramjit Singh at fine-leg. A difficult skier off Miller was grassed by Bas de Leede in the 24th over but it didn’t harm the Dutch cause too long as van Beek cleaned him up with a length delivery that evaded Miller’s swipe to take the top of his off stump.
With more than a hundred required from there, it was a shot Miller could well have curbed. But it was that kind of a day for South Africa. Too eager to carve a belligerent win, they gave in to the urge of choosing senseless shots—expansive cover drives, sweeps, reverse sweeps and what not—that swiftly brought on this predicament.
It’s another thing that South Africa had the match in their grasp by the 34th over of Netherlands’ innings. At least the scoreboard indicated the same with the score reading 140/7 and the Dutch left with only Edwards and three out-and-out lower-order batters.
Opener Vikramjit Singh couldn’t stay on top of his pull against a Rabada snorter, top-edging him to slip. Replays caught Max ODowd nicking Marco Jansen trying a loose drive away from his body. Bas de Leede too went for a drive but was completely foxed by the seam movement. And when Colin Ackermann chopped Gerald Coetzee on to his stumps in the 16th over, it seemed the game won’t go the distance.
Two small but crucial stands, however, breathed life back into Netherlands’ innings after that. The first, a brisk 31-ball 32-run partnership between Teja Nidamanuru and Sybrand Engelbrecht was broken by a cross-seam, short and angling delivery from Lungi Ngidi that was hit straight down the throat of Jansen at fine-leg. By the time the next stand was broken by Jansen, Nidamanuru had added another 40 runs and taken Netherlands past 200. This is where South Africa started to lose the plot. Wides were conceded (21 of them), catches were dropped and the lines started getting too inconsistent.
Edwards wasn’t hanging around too. If Keshav Maharaj tried to test with a tossed-up delivery, Edwards went on his knee and swept him through backward square-leg. It’s a shot he kept repeating against Maharaj, who played into his hands by trying to hit fuller lengths. A review was burned in the exasperation of not being able to dismiss Edwards before pacers were brought in. That too didn’t change the narrative as Edwards went after Rabada and Ngidi, repeatedly piercing cover.
Maharaja finally broke that resistance by tempting Logan van Beek into a hoick that led to his stumping but van der Merwe and Aryan Dutt kept compounding South Africa’s woes, exploiting the vacant areas with smart hits.
It only proved to be the start of a turnaround that the Dutch will remember for a long time and one that South Africa will not be able to forget in a hurry.
