Netherlands pulled off a memorable 38-run win against South Africa in the 15th match of the ICC World Cup 2023 to stun the cricket world on Tuesday, October 17. South Africa were bowled out on just 207 runs while chasing a tough 246-run target in 43 overs at Dharamsala's Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium.
Captain Scott Edwards played a stunning knock to see his team record a first-ever ODI win against South Africa. The Dutch side also registered its only third win in ODI World Cup history and first since 2007. South Africa also saw their three-match winning streak ending with a shocking defeat.
Netherlands famously defeated South Africa when both times last played against each other in the T20 World Cup 2022 and now created another major upset to warn other participating teams. They lost the toss and were forced to bat first in a rain-hit game. Netherlands struggled for a positive start as they lost both openers Vikramjit Singh and Max O'Dowd early in the game.
South Africa pacers dominated the powerplay overs in the hope of restricting their opponent to a low-score total. Flying again Kagiso Rabada picked big wickets for Vikramjit and Bas de Leede to put pressure on the Dutch side. Netherlands made a comeback with Edwards and Roelof van der Merwe adding match-defining 64 runs for the eighth wicket.
Netherlands managed to produce 109 runs in their last nine overs to put a challenging total of 245 for eight on the scoreboard. Edwards remained unbeaten on 78 runs while van der Merwe added crucial 29 runs in the end. For South Africa, Rabada Marco Jansen and Lungi Ngidi picked two wickets each.
South African openers Temba Bavuma and Quinton de Kock looked in a good rhythm with a 36-run stand for the opening wicket but were not able to convert a good start into something fruitful. Colin Ackermann gave Netherlands an opening with de Kock's wicket in the eighth over and that led to South Africa's shocking collapse.
The Proteas lost Bavuma, Aiden Markram and Rassie van der Dussesn in the next four overs to concede early pressure. In-form big-hitter Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller balanced the game for some time with a 45-run partnership for the fifth wicket. Klaasen scored 28 off 28 balls and Miller top-scored with 43 runs but were not able to finish the game.
Logan van Beek dismissed both Klaasen and Miller to kill the game for South Africa. Experienced spinner Keshav Maharaj tried to deny Netherlands a huge win by scoring 40 runs off 37 balls the Dutch side registered a 38-run win to register a rare World Cup win.
Netherlands Playing XI: Vikramjit Singh, Max ODowd, Colin Ackermann, Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Scott Edwards (c & wk), Sybrand Engelbrecht, Roelof van der Merwe, Logan van Beek, Aryan Dutt, Paul van Meekeren
South Africa Playing XI: Quinton de Kock (wk), Temba Bavuma (c), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Gerald Coetzee
