T20 WC: Netherlands bowlers put us into pressure early, says Zimbabwe skipper Ervine after loss
Nov 02, 2022
Adelaide [Australia], November 2 : Following his side's five-wicket loss to Netherlands in their ICC T20 World Cup match, Zimbabwe skipper Craig Ervine credited the Dutch for their bowling, saying that they were able to put them under pressure early into the game.
Netherlands registered a comprehensive five-wicket win over Zimbabwe at the Adelaide Oval to hamper its chances of qualifying for the semi-finals in the ongoing T20 World Cup.
"The pitch seemed a bit sticky at the start. One of those tosses you would not mind losing. The Netherlands put us under pressure early. Raza, Williams pulled us out a bit. Credit to Netherlands," said Ervine in a post-match presentation.
With this win, the Netherlands finally have some points to their name. They are still at the bottom of Group 2 with two points and one win in four matches. Zimbabwe on the other hand is in the fourth position. They have three points to their name, with one win in four matches. One of their matches was affected by rain, due to which they got a point.
Electing to bat first, Zimbabwe was bundled out for 117 runs in 19.2 overs. Sikandar Raza (40) and Sean Williams (28) were the only batters who could cross double digits for their side. They also had a 48-run partnership for the fourth wicket.
Medium pacer Paul van Meekeren was the pick of the bowlers for Netherlands, he got figures of 3/29 in four overs. Brandon Glover, Logan van Beek and Bas de Leede also got two wickets. Fred Klaassen got one wicket.
Chasing 118, Netherlands did lose some wickets but knocks from Max O'Dowd (52) and Tom Cooper (32) were more than enough for them to achieve the target with five wickets in hand and two overs to spare.
Richard Ngarava (2/18) and Blessing Muzarabani (2/23) bowled impressively for Zimbabwe, but their side did not have many runs on the board. Luke Jongwe also got a wicket.
Odowd was given the 'Man of the Match' award for his fifty.
Brief Score: Netherlands 120/5 (Max ODowd 52, Tom Cooper 32; Richard Ngarava 2/18) vs Zimbabwe 117 (Sikandar Raza 40, Sean Williams 28; Paul van Meekeren 3/29)
