The Netherlands overcame Namibia by five wickets on Tuesday, with their top order playing a key role in the successful pursuit of a modest 121/6. This victory puts the Netherlands in a great position to secure a Super 12 berth from Group A in the ICC T20 World Cup.
The Netherlands has risen to the top of the group following their second straight victory (the Dutch had defeated UAE by three wickets in their opening Group match).
The Netherlands needed six runs to win in the final over, and experienced all-rounder Bas de Leede maintained his composure to see his team through with three balls left, earning him Player-of-the-Match honours.
The Dutch gave a great team performance, and captain Scott Edwards rotated his bowlers skillfully to limit Namibia to just 121/6 in favourable batting conditions at Kardinia Park.
Seven different bowlers were utilised by Netherlands to stop their opponents, with de Leede (2/18) serving as the main destabilizer and the lone bowler to take multiple wickets for the victorious team.
The Netherlands got off to a terrific start thanks to the opening pair of Vikramjit Singh (39) and Max O'Dowd (35) and the victory was always within reach thanks to de Leede's undefeated 30 which was enough to overcome a late stumble.
Although Jan Frylinck (43) led Namibia in scoring, the Netherlands' bowlers controlled the middle overs, forcing the left-hander to eat a lot of deliveries.
Two of Namibia's most aggressive batters, David Wiese (11 not out) and JJ Smit (5 not out), were able to spend a little period of time in the middle at the end of the innings. To add a modicum of decency to their total, the pair took 12 off Timm van der Gugten's final over, but it was too little, too late because the Netherlands proved to be too powerful.
Despite the loss, Gerhard Erasmus' Namibia are still in the mix to make it to Super 12 if they can win their final match on Thursday against the UAE.
Brief scores: Namibia 121/6 (Jan Frylinck 43; Bas de Leede 2/18) lost to Netherlands 122/5 (Max O'Dowd 35, Vikramjit Singh 39, Bas de Leede 30 not out) by five wickets.