England outclass Netherlands by 160 runs
Cricket
Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali claimed a three-wicket haul each
PUNE (Web Desk) – England showed disciplined on Wednesday as they defeated the Netherlands by 160 runs in a match of the World Cup 2023 at MCA International Stadium, Pune.
Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali pulled out a three-wicket haul each helping England restrict Netherlands to 179 in pursuit of a giant target of 340 runs.
Middle order batsman Teja Nidamanuru remained top scorer from the Dutch side with his 41-run innings as he tried to boost the chase after unimpressive start.
Earlier, skillful batting performance helped England post a giant target of 340 runs for the Netherlands.
Despite losing Jonny Bairstow to the turn of Aryan Dutt in an early blow, England finished their first Powerplay period at a run rate of seven.
Dawid Malan (87) unleashed a number of big shots. He was well set and pacing towards his seventh ODI hundred when was run out due to van Beek's accurate throw in the inner ring.
Later, Ben Stokes took the charge and smashed 108 runs to boost the total. He got full support from tail order player Chris Woakes who played an inning of 51 runs.
Earlier, England won the toss and decided to bat first against the Netherlands. England are eyeing to get their second win in the competition.
Earlier Coverage
England's title defence has not gone as planned but the reigning champions still have plenty to play for during their final two matches of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023.
With just one win from their opening seven matches, England are already out of contention for the semi-finals and won't be able to defend the World Cup crown they won in sensational style on home soil four years ago.
But they do still have the lure of trying to win their final two matches in India to ensure they qualify for the ICC Champions Trophy that is scheduled to be held in Pakistan in 2025.
The Netherlands, however, do still have an outside chance of finishing in the top four and will need to win their last two games of the World Cup and have other results go their way to have any chance of sneaking into the semi-finals.
But a spot in the ICC Champions Trophy is surely also a prime motivation for the Dutch and a win over England here will put them one step closer to achieving this.
The experienced leg-spinner Adil Rashid has a team-best 10 wickets to his name already at the World Cup and will once again play a pivotal role in England's fortunes against the Netherlands.
Look for England captain Jos Buttler to insert Rashid into the Netherlands innings nice and early and the right-armer is likely to prove hard to score from if he can continue his current form.
The Netherlands star Bas de Leede has shown glimpses of what he is capable of during the World Cup so far, but hasn't quite lived up to lofty expectations.
De Leede has 117 runs to his name at an average of 16.71 and 11 wickets at an average of 30.09 with the ball, but the talented 23-year-old will be aiming to improve on those numbers against England.
Squads
England squad: Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, Brydon Carse, David Willey, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes.
Netherlands squad: Scott Edwards (c), Max O'Dowd, Bas de Leede, Vikram Singh, Teja Nidamanuru, Paul van Meekeren, Colin Ackermann, Roelof van der Merwe, Logan van Beek, Aryan Dutt, Ryan Klein, Wesley Barresi, Saqib Zulfiqar, Shariz Ahmad, Sybrand Engelbrecht.
