Mitchell Santner bagged his maiden five-wicket haul in the World Cup as New Zealand registered a commanding 99-run win over the Netherlands in Hyderabad on Monday.
After posting a challenging 322/7 on a slow track at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, in the sixth match of World Cup 2023, New Zealand recorded its second successive win in the tournament.
For the Netherlands to gun down the total, Vikramjit Singh and Bas de Leede, who scored half-centuries against Pakistan, had to perform again. But with its top batters failing, batting all-rounder Colin Ackermann fought a lone battle with a 73-ball 69 as Netherlands was bowled out for 223 in 46.3 overs.
Santner was the pick of the bowlers, with the left-arm spinner picking up his second five-wicket haul in his ODI career, the first in this edition of the World Cup by registering impressive figures of 10-0-59-5.
Left-arm spinner Santner took the wickets of Max O’Dowd, Ackermann, Scott Edwards, Roelof van der Merwe and Ryan Klien to become the first bowler to snare a five-wicket haul at this venue, eclipsing Mohammad Siraj’s figures of 4/46 that the Indian pacer had against New Zealand early this year.
Matt Henry, Rachin Ravindra, and Trent Boult bowled in tandem to tie down the Netherlands and it kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Santner, the architect of the win, was adjudged the player of the match.
Earlier, Will Young, Ravindra, and Tom Latham crafted impressive half-centuries to help New Zealand post a healthy total. Asked to bat first, the Netherlands bowlers tested the New Zealand top-order with some tight bowling.
Devon Conway and Young forged a 67-run opening stand. Young stamped his authority on the new-ball attack after an impatient Conway walked back to the hut early. Taking the adventurous route, Conway danced down the track to deposit Roelof van der Merwe for a maximum over long-on. However, a repeat of the shot led to his dismissal, with de Leede taking the catch.
The Netherlands tightened proceedings and did not allow New Zealand to run away with the game, with Aryan Dutt, Paul van Meekeren, and van der Merwe sharing six wickets among themselves.
Unlike against England, where it ran away with the chase, New Zealand batters adapted to the slowness of the surface and paced their innings to near perfection. Ravindra, who smashed a century in the World Cup opener, continued his fine form and stitched a 77-run stand for the second wicket with Young.
Scoring at nearly six runs per over, New Zealand motored through the middle overs, ticking the scorecard, banking on strike rotation, and occasionally finding the boundaries. Van Meekeren provided the breakthrough by dismissing Young, and soon Ravindra was also dismissed after van der Merwe found an edge and Edwards completed the catch.
However, Daryl Mitchell and Latham, with a 53-run stand, kept the Black Caps in the driver’s seat. A 17-ball 36-run cameo from Santner beefed up the total.
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