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Netherlands victors in battle of underdogs
It was a battle of the underdogs in the truest sense of the term, as The Netherlands and Scotland fought it out for a consolation victory at the Warner Park Stadium in St. Kitts. However, the winners of this World Cup battle were The Dutchmen who showed exemplary class in a game that was virtually inconsequential from the tournament point of view. Both these teams will now be heading back home after their sorry performance in the group stage of Cricket World Cup 2007. Netherlands, however, will be returning with two points in their bag.
Scotland were put in to bat first by the Dutch. The sorry state of their batting was exposed by the disciple of Netherlands’ bowling attack.
Wickets kept falling at regular intervals and the team was bowled out for a meager 136 runs in the 35th over. For Scotland, the highest scorer was Glenn Rogers (26). Billy Stelling was the most attacking of Netherlands’ bowlers, picking up three wickets for 12 runs in his eight overs. He was deservedly adjudged Man of the Match.
The Netherlands seemed to be in a bit of hurry when they came in to bat. Their opener Bas Zuiderent scored 43 runs off 56 balls and remained unbeaten till the end. Ryan ten Doeschate was the star batsman for Netherlands. He scored 70 not out off 68 balls and hit 13 fours and one six in his inning.
The Netherlands cruised away to the paltry target of 136, scoring 140 at the loss of two wickets in the 24th over. For Scotland, John Blain was the only credible bowler – he picked two wickets for 29 runs in his five overs.
Brief Score: Netherlands 140/2 (ten Doeschate 70*, Zuiderent 43*) vs. Scotland 136 (Stelling 3-12)
Result: The Netherlands won by eight wickets
Man of the Match: Billy Stelling
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