Netherlands beat Oman in the fifth match of the ICC World Cup Qualifier 2023 to keep their hopes alive for the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup spot. They recorded a 74-run win via the DLS method while defending 362 runs at Harare Sports Club.
India-born batter Vikramjit Singh registered his maiden ODI hundred while young off-spinner Aryan Dutt bowled his career-best ODI spell to boost the Dutch side to a crucial win.
Oman’s stand-in skipper Aaqib Ilyas won the toss and elected to bowl first with two changes to his team while the Netherlands added Clayton Floyd in place of leggie Shariz Ahmad to their playing XI.
Rain interrupted the game in the initial stages and officials cut two overs to make it a 48-over game. Opener Vikramjit and Max O’Dowd gave the Dutch side a sensational start to take early control of the game. The duo pulled off a 117-run stand for the opening wicket in just 22 overs with Vikramjit recording his fourth ODI fifty.
Experienced spin all-rounder Ayaan Khan gave Oman a much-needed breakthrough with O’Dowd’s wicket in the 22nd over but the Netherlands kept the momentum with them with Wesley Barresi resuming his red-hot form in the tournament.
Barresi and Vikramjit added 80 runs for the second wicket with the latter bringing up his first ODI hundred. Vikramjit scored 110 runs off 109 balls with the help of 11 fours and two sixes before getting caught out on Mohammad Nadeem’s delivery in the 34th over.
After Vikramjit’s dismissal, the Netherlands accelerated their innings to push for a huge total to boost their Net Run Rate. Barresi played one of the best ODI knocks by smashing 97 runs off just 65 balls as the Netherlands added 165 runs in the last 14 overs.
Bas de Leede (39 runs off 19 balls) and Saqib Zulfiqar (33 runs off 17) also pitched in crucial runs as the Netherlands scored a total of 362/7 in 48 overs. Bilal Khan has the best bowling figure for Oman with 3/75 while Mohammad Nadeem took two wickets at an economy rate of 9.00.
Vikramjit scored his maiden ODI hundred
Chasing a big total, Oman’s top order struggled for a quick start in powerplay overs. In-form Kashyap Prajapati and Jatinder Singh added a 34-run partnership for the first wicket with the latter getting run out after a terrible mix-up in the middle. Skipper Aqib Ilyas struggled against Klein’s consistent bouncers in his first spell. He was caught out by Vikramjit at slip after an unplayable good delivery with an extra bounce by Klein.
Prajapati seemed in good rhythm for another big knock but Dutt finished his innings in the 14th over to put Netherlands in a comfortable position for the big win at Harare. Dutt completed his first spell with Nadeem’s wicket in the 20th over and Oman was down at 4/102.
Ayaan Khan and Shoaib Khan then added some stability to Oman’s chase with a 112-run stand for the fifth wicket. Ayaan was dropped four times by the Netherlands before he reached his fifty and then he took that opportunity by bringing his maiden international hundred.
Dutt picked his third wicket of the day as he dismissed Shoaib to end the partnership which also ended Oman’s slim hopes of recording a maiden win in the Super Six round. Ayaan was not able to find regular boundaries as Dutch bowlers were impressive throughout the game. Klein dismissed Sandeep Goud on lbw in the 41st over to further kill the game for Oman.
Officials then stopped a game due to bad light and then announced a win for the Netherlands after a small discussion with both teams. Vikramjit was awarded a Player of the Match award for his brilliant ton.
However, despite a huge win, the Netherlands remain in fourth place in Super Six round points table. They joined Scotland with four points in four games but were not able to get their net run rate better than Zimbabwe or Scotland.
Zimbabwe and Scotland play each other in their next Super Six match on July 4. A win for Zimbabwe will end both Scotland and Netherlands’ run in the Qualifiers. But a win for Scotland will keep the Netherlands alive in the race as both European sides clash in their last Super Six fixture on Thursday. On the other hand, Oman will take on another eliminated side, West Indies, in their last Super Six match on Wednesday.