The 28th match of the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata saw the Netherlands defeat Bangladesh by 87 runs.The Netherlands team bowled Bangladesh out for 142 while defending a total of 230. After defeating South Africa by 38 runs in their first World Cup match, Scott Edwards and his squad now have two victories.

In just 18 overs, Bangladesh’s batting order fell apart dramatically, falling to a perilous 70-6. The middle order was completely disorganized as the feisty Van Meekeren took four significant wickets for just 23 runs.

The Bangladeshi team’s misery was further compounded when Bas de Leede removed well-established batsman Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who scored 35 runs. Bangladesh was bowled out for a total of 142 in 42.2 overs as a result of the collapse.The Dutch seamers were outstanding; they varied their pace deftly and took advantage of the slow track at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Along with his contribution with the ball, Bas de Leede took two wickets for 25 runs, which included the crucial removal of Mohammad Mahmudullah (20), helping the Netherlands achieve a historic milestone.

After taking the final wicket and being voted Player of the Match, Van Meekeren set off joyous celebrations for the Netherlands. This triumph represented a stunning comeback following their earlier loss to Australia by a commanding margin of 309 runs.After a rough start, Scott Edwards made a crucial contribution of 68 runs to salvage the innings. With 35 runs, Sybrand Engelbrecht also had a significant impact. Thanks to some late hitting from Logan van Beek, who finished the game  with 23 runs, the Netherlands were able to score 229 runs in total.

Edwards said, “I was talking to a few guys, and we were saying that if we could reach 220 plus, we would be competitive in the game,” in reflection on the team’s performance. We were pleased with our lower-order batsmen’s contributions, which helped us reach what we thought was a respectable total.”

It was Mahedi Hasan (2-40) and Shoriful Islam (2-51) who had to tidy up the tail for the Netherlands. But Bangladesh could not help but feel bad about themselves for letting the Dutch lower order score 74 runs in the last 10 overs, which allowed their opponents to reach a reasonable total.

After Scott Edwards won the toss and chose to bat, the Netherlands got off to a difficult start, losing both of their openers within the first 14 deliveries. But Wesley Barresi came up to make amends, scoring a quick 41 off of eight boundaries before being removed by Mustafizur Rahman (2-36). The Bangladesh squad lost a chance to put the Netherlands in a more vulnerable position when they dropped Edwards twice, while Colin Ackermann chipped in with 15 runs.

Bas de Leede, found behind for 17, was eliminated by Taskin Ahmed (2-43), leaving the Netherlands battling at 107-5. Still, Scott Edwards held on, teaming up with Sybrand Engelbrecht to score his second fifty of the competition, only to be outwitted by Mustafizur with a wide yorker.Shakib Al Hasan, the captain of Bangladesh, said after the game, “I thought we bowled really well, but we were sloppy in the field.” Limiting them to 160–170 from our current position was the right thing to do. This is the lowest moment of our batting struggles thus far in the competition. We must get back together and conclude the competition with success.”

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