Netherlands, who qualified for the 2023 World Cup after finishing second behind Sri Lanka in the Qualifiers, secured their first World Cup win since 2007. “Netherlands have done it again! A year after the Dutch shockingly ended South Africa’s forgettable stay in Australia in the T20 World Cup, Netherlands scripted another famous win over the Proteas. They took down the seemingly potential title contender by 38 runs in the rain-curtailed World Cup match in Dharamshala.
The second major upset in the tournament came just two nights after Afghanistan stunned defending champions England in Delhi. This victory marked the end of Netherlands’ 16-year long wait for another win in the World Cup. Having missed the previous 2 editions, they made it through to the 2023 World Cup and secured their first win since 2007, when they had defeated Scotland by 8 wickets in Basseterre.
Their victory over Scotland followed their maiden World Cup win against Namibia back in 2003. This was also their first win against a Test-playing nation, while for South Africa, it was their first loss against an associate country.
Intermittent rain right after the toss delayed the start of the match, before reducing it to a 43-over-a-side contest. Amid the overcast conditions and the extra chill in the mountain air, South Africa’s fast bowlers – Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen, and Lungi Ngidi – got a lot out of the surface. However, questions aplenty arose about their death bowling as Netherlands, inspired by their skipper Scott Edwards, smashed 105 runs for the loss of just one wicket in the final 10 overs.
