Netherlands defeat West Indies in a Super Over thriller while Zimbabwe hammers USA with a 304 run win
The Netherlands beat West Indies in a nail-biting Super Over thriller in their Group A encounter of the 2023 ICC Men’s World Cup Qualifiers at the Takashinga Cricket Club in Harare courtesy of Logan van Beek’s heroics.
Earlier in the day, Zimbabwe made a mockery of the USA by squashing them with a margin of 304 runs – the second-highest margin in ODI history.
Match 1: The Netherlands vs West Indies
The odds were stacked against the Netherlands when they were down at 179-4 by the end of 30 overs. A grand total of 195 runs were needed to win the game with only 20 overs in hand. Teja Nidamanuru and Scott Edwards didn’t break a sweat while striking at a rate of over 140.
While Edwards piled up 67 runs, Teja completed his century and added 11 runs on top of it. Logan van Beek and Aryan Dutt’s flurry of boundaries brought the Dutch in a touching distance of victory. Requiring one run to win off the final ball, van Beek spliced his shot as Jason Holder completed his dive to take the catch.
However, van Beek continued riding on the momentum and punished Holder’s slot deliveries and full tosses all over the leg side. Three boundaries and three sixes meant the Netherlands had put up 30 runs in the Super Over. Johnson Charles did start with a six in the reply. But, van Beek responded by conceding two singles and two wickets in the next four deliveries to put a rubber stamp on the Netherlands’ victory.
West Indies batted first and put up a 101-run partnership for the first wicket with both Brandon King and Johnson Charles completing their half-century. Nicholas Pooran was the only one to complete his century in a 104-run knock from 65 deliveries. Keemo Paul remained unbeaten by scoring 46 runs off 25 deliveries late in the game.
Looking back, West Indies would feel that they have been let down by their bowling unit as Jason Holder was the only one to keep his economy under six runs per over with one wicket to his name. Pooran was not allowed to bat in the Super Over as he had stayed out of the field more than the stipulated amount of time in the second innings.
Match 2: Zimbabwe vs USA
Zimbabwe sent a strong message to their three Super Six opponents – Sri Lanka, Scotland, and Oman – by squashing the USA with a 304-run victory at the Harare Sports Club. The hosts started the game on a cautious note by scoring only 56 runs off their first 13 overs. Innocent Kaia lost his wicket soon after at 32.
It was Joylord Gumbie and Sean Williams’ 160-run partnership for the second wicket that tilted the tables slightly in Zimbabwe’s favor. The hosts had 15 overs and eight wickets in hand. Sean Williams made the most of the opportunity by smashing his career-best figures of 174 off 101 balls that included 21 sumptuous boundaries and 5 mammoth sixes.
Sikandar Raza and Ryan Burl put up 48 and 47 off 27 and 16 deliveries respectively. The USA struggled to keep pace with Zimbabwe’s batting and found themselves on the receiving end of chasing 409 runs.
In reply, the USA had already lost half their side by the end of the first powerplay. Richard Ngarava struck twice while the USA lost two wickets to run outs. The USA were never able to rebuild themselves with Abhishek Paradkar’s 24 being the highest score of the innings. All five of Ngarava, Evans, Raza, Jongwe, and Burl had their wickets column filled in the scoreboard.