ICC T20 World Cup: Netherlands stumble to five-wicket win over Namibia | Cricket News

GEELONG (Australia): The Netherlands made a tough comeback from a small target before cruising to a five-wicket win over Namibia to claim their second consecutive T20 World Cup win on Tuesday.
The Netherlands dished out a superb bowling effort to restrict Namibia to 121 for six before taking the game deep. They completed the task in 19.3 overs in their first round Group A match.
At a comfortable 92 for one, Netherlands made a harakiri towards the end to allow Namibia to mount a comeback.
Vikramjit Singh (39 off 31) and Max O’Dowd (35 off 35) got the Netherlands’ run off to a flying start by sharing 59 runs for the opening wicket.

However, from 92 for one, the Netherlands slumped to 101 for four, thanks to two strikes from left-arm pacer Johannes Jonathan Smit (2/24) in the 16th over.
Skipper Scott Edwards did no good and perished in the next over.
But Bas de Leede (30 not out) held his nerve and, in the company of Tim Pringle (8 not out), saw the Netherlands home with a 20-run stand.
Earlier, de Leede (2/18) also shone with the ball, to help the Netherlands limit Namibia to a modest total.
In addition, Roelof van der Merwe (1/6), Pringle (1/15), Colin Ackermann (1/17) and Paul van Meekeren (1/18) also registered their names in the wicket column for the Netherlands.
Namibia lost their first three wickets for 32 runs when he elected to bat.
Jan Frylinck (43) tried to revive Namibia’s innings in the company of captain Gerhard Erasmus (16) before De Leede took care of both batsmen in the space of three balls in the 19th over.
Michael van Lingen (20) and Stephan Baard (19) started at the top before they were fired.
David Wiese (11 not out) and Smit (5 not out) remained unbeaten for Namibia.
With two wins from as many matches, the Netherlands topped Group A ahead of Namibia (2 points from 2 matches) and are better placed to qualify for the Super 12 stage.
The Netherlands defeated the UAE by three wickets in their opening match, while Namibia stunned Sri Lanka by 55 runs.
The Netherlands take on Sri Lanka in their final group game on Thursday, while Namibia face the UAE.
With two good outings, Dutch captain Edwards is keen to end their campaign on a positive note.
“We did well in terms of front-loading the runs. We knew Namibia had some big bowlers in those conditions. It’s well and truly in our hands, but for us it’s just about winning the third game “, he said after the game.
Namibia captain Erasmus said batting was a bit difficult on this wicket.
“Never nice to be on the losing side…With the bat it looked difficult for both sides. They ran better. We tried our best,” he said.