ISLAMABAD: Australia beat the Netherlands by a huge and record margin of 309 runs to register their 3rd win in the ICC World Cup contest being played at Delhi on Wednesday. Thanks to the splendid consecutive hundred by David Warner, supported by super knocks by Steven Smith and Marnus Labuschagne, with a later quick terrific hundred from Glenn Maxwell that guided Australia to a big total of 399.
While chasing a huge target of 400 runs to win, the Netherlands batting collapsed in the start and didn’t absorb the pressure of the huge target. Both Dutch openers took a quick start in the first three overs to reach 27 without a loss. However, in the fourth over, their debacle began when Starc bowled out Max O’Dowd on 6 runs.
In the 6th over Vikramjit Singh got run out on 25 with the scoreboard settled at 37. After two dismissals, the Australian bowlers dominated against the Dutch. In the 10 over, Colin Ackerman was dismissed by Hazlewood on 10. Bas de Leede was the next to follow, who was dismissed on 4.
In the 14th over, when Netherlands reached 62, they lost the wicket of Sybrand Engelbrecht on 11. Like the previous games, the lower order of the Dutch showed some resistance, but this time, it was not too long. The side lost their 6th wicket when Marsh dismissed Teja Nidamanuru on 14. However, the skipper Scott Edward, who scored a half-century in the last game, managed to stay on the crease. But this time, the other batters didn’t accompany him and were dismissed at regular intervals.
In the 19th over, when the score reached 86, the Netherlands lost their 7th wicket as Van Beek was dismissed by Zampa on zero. On the next ball, he also removed Van der Merve. At the stage, Netherlands were 86 for the loss of 8 wickets in 18.4 overs. Zampa didn’t stop there and removed the last 2 batters in the next over. The Netherlands were all out on 90 as Australia won the match with a huge margin of 309 runs to register the biggest-ever victory in the ODI.
From Australia, Zampa was the most successful bowler, taking 4 wickets, while just conceding 8 runs in his 4-over spill. Marsh grabbed two wickets, while Mitchel Starc, Hazlewood, and Pat Cummins took one wicket each.
Australia Batting Against Netherlands
Earlier winning the toss, Australian skipper Pat Cummins decided to bat first on a flat track. As a precedent, Australian openers took a flying start; however, in the fourth over, the Netherlands pacer Van Beek managed to remove him on 9. Meanwhile, David Warner continued the fireworks along with Steven Smith. Both drove the innings to first 100 runs in just 16 overs and also completed their half-centuries. They contributed 132 runs partnership for the side. In the 24th over, when the score reached 160, Smith was dismissed on 71. He was replaced by Marnus Labuschagne, who, along with Warner, further accelerated the innings to set a big total. Labuschagne completed his quick half-century.
He scored 62 runs on 47 balls before he was dismissed in the 37th over, with the total score reached 244. Meanwhile, David Warner completed his brilliant century, including 3 sixes and 11 boundaries. A couple of overs later, Netherlands managed to get two quick wickets, including Josh Inglis (14) and David Warner (104). At the stage, Australia were 267 for 5 in the 40th over.
The two quick dismissals helped the Netherlands a little; however, Glenn Maxwell managed to dominate soon, while knocking some quick boundaries. He completed the second-fastest half-century of the World Cup 2023 after Kusal Mendis (25) on just 27 balls, including 2 sixes and 6 boundaries. After completing his half-century, Maxwell became more lethal while racing towards his century very quickly. In the forty-ninth over, Maxwell smashed two boundaries and 3 sixes and completed his hundred on 40 balls.
This was the fastest century by any batter in the World Cup competition. He was dismissed by Van Beek on 106 in the 50th over. However, till then, the damage had been done. Van Beek also removed Stark on the next ball. In 50 overs, Australia 393 runs for the loss of 8 wickets.
From the Netherlands, Logan van Beek was the most successful bowler while taking 4 wickets in his 10-over spill. Bas de Leede took 2 wickets but was very expensive while conceding 115 runs, the most expensive bowling from him in the ODI history. Aryan Dut got 1 wicket.
Australia Team
Mitchell Marsh, David Warner, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis †, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Adam Zampa
Netherlands Team
Vikramjit Singh, Max O’Dowd, Colin Ackermann, Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Scott Edwards (c)†, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Logan van Beek, Roelof van der Merwe, Aryan Dutt and Paul van Meekeren
