In the 15th match of the World Cup, the Netherlands pulled off an upset by defeating South Africa by a margin of 38 runs at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala on Tuesday.
Rain reduced the game to 43 overs where Netherlands batted first to set a challenging target of 246 runs to South Africa. However, the South African top order crumbled as they lost four wickets with just 44 runs on the board. At first, skipper Temba Bavuma and Quinton de Kock returned to the pavilion early, providing a start of only 39 runs for South Africa.
David Miller emerged as the top scorer for South Africa with 43 runs off 52 balls, while a late surge from Keshav Maharaj helped South Africa cross the 200-run mark, as he scored 40 runs off 37 balls. For the Netherlands, Logan van Beek took three wickets, and Roelof van der Merwe and Paul van Meekeren took two wickets each, resulting in South Africa being all out for 207.
Batting first, the Netherlands set a target of 246 runs against South Africa. Dutch skipper Scott Edwards remained unbeaten on 78 runs off 69 balls, helping his team reach 245 for the loss of eight wickets.
The Netherlands also faced challenges in the top and middle order, with wickets falling at regular intervals. The opening pair struggled to provide a strong start, with the first wicket falling in the seventh over with just 24 runs on the board. For South Africa, Lungi Ngidi, Marco Jansen, and Kagiso Rabada took two wickets each.
Due to a two-hour rain delay, both teams expressed concerns about the condition of the outfield as the match commenced.
