All-rounder Bas de Leede, who played a key role in the Netherlands’ 87-run shock win over Bangladesh in the World Cup, said his team celebrated its second victory over another full member of the ICC by singing the team song and reflecting on the match.
Asked how they celebrate a win over a bigger side, de Leede said, “Nothing too crazy. We get together, talk about the match and sing the team song. It is taken from Australian (rules) football, but most of the lines have been changed. It feels great. Some of the guys will watch the rugby match (final) tonight.”
De Leede hoped every win would help popularise cricket in the Netherlands. “We want the young kids to take the game.”
READ | NED vs BAN: Netherlands wins second World Cup 2023 match, beats Bangladesh by 87 runs
On the victory over Bangladesh, de Leede said as the pitch was a “tricky” one and it was not easy to score runs, captain Scott Edwards and Sybrand Engelbrecht maintained their composure to build an important 78-run partnership to enable the side reach 229. He agreed that the performance of the Dutch top order batters was disappointing.
De Leede said his team analysed the Bangladeshi batters and bowled accordingly to bundle them out for 142.
Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan admitted that his team gave a below par performance. “We were sloppy in the field. Throughout the tournament, we have not batted the way we can. We gave away two points to the Dutch. It’s difficult to swallow,” said Shakib.
Shakib didn’t disagree with the suggestion that this was Bangladesh’s “worst ever” World Cup campaign.
Asked whether his feud with Tamim Iqbal in the buildup to the World Cup had an impact on the players’ performance, Shakib said it could have an effect. “Can’t say what’s going on in someone’s mind,” he said.
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