The Netherlands are not here to enjoy themselves, play against the big players to acquire experience, and then leave. They have aspirations to reach the World Cup 2023 semifinals in addition to wanting to defeat the top teams. If anyone had any doubts, Tuesday's Dutch victory against South Africa at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala is sure to dispel them. On a pitch that was favourable to the South African pacers, especially after rain gave it extra life, the Netherlands defeated South Africa by 38 runs. The match was cut to 43 overs each side, which may have marginally benefitted the Dutch team because abbreviated games often favoured the weaker team. However, Scott Edwards and his team proved they are not a flash in the pan.
"I believe we enter every game with our strategies and intentions for attempting to win the game. We believe that if we play well enough on the day, we can defeat any team, so for us, it just comes down to playing our best brand of cricket, " Edwards stated in the post-game news conference.
The Netherlands had to work hard to earn their World Cup spot. They are the only associate member competing in this tournament, and they made it feasible by defeating West Indies, Ireland, and Zimbabwe in the qualifying rounds.
"I believe that after qualifying, we made up our minds quite quickly about what we wanted to do at this event. Yes, and we weren't simply come here to enjoy ourselves. We're here to improve our chances of moving on to the next level by winning cricket matches. So, yes, South Africa is undoubtedly a very powerful team and will be in the running for a semifinal position. So, yes, we need to defeat teams like these if we want to be in the mix," Edwards said.
Before Edwards himself produced a miraculous comeback by scoring an undefeated 78 off 69 balls to lead his team to a spirited 245 for eight, the Dutch were in trouble at 140 for seven in the 34th over. Then, in 42.5 overs, they bowled South Africa out for 207.
As questioned about what happened among himself and the other hitters as they were facing certain defeat, Edwards responded, "As a group we pride ourselves on playing total cricket, which is guys that are coming in at number 8, 9, and 10 have just as much of the ability to put on those partnerships."But while we were out there batting with them, our goal was just to give ourselves a chance to play harder later on in the innings. Fortunately, Roelof van der Merwe and Aryan Dutt made some amazing cameo appearances to help us reach what we believed to be a par score."
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