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Harare, June 22 (IANS) Scott Edwards played a captain's knock of 67 not out and helped Netherlands start their campaign in Mens ODI World Cup qualifiers with a five-wicket victory over USA in their Group A match at Takashinga Sports Club, here on Thursday.
After restricting USA to 211/8, Netherlands chased down the target with five wickets in hand and 40 balls remaining. Supporting Edwards was Teja Nidamanuru with his fine 58, as the duo shared a 72-run stand for the fifth wicket, followed by the Netherlands skipper stitching an unbroken 59-run partnership with Logan van Beek to take the Dutch over the line.
Barring a short spell of play when USA bowlers got through three quick Netherlands middle-order wickets, they were never quite in the contest to challenge Edwards & Co. Ali Khan marked his return in style as he pulled off a good catch to dismiss Vikramjit Singh in the fourth over.
Max O'Dowd and Wesley Barresi helped Netherlands reach 61/1 in 11 overs, but Jessy Singh bowled an impeccable spell of 2/13 during which he accounted for both batters, followed by Saurabh Netravalkar taking out Bas de Leede in the 22nd over, to leave Netherlands in trouble.
The fifth-wicket stand between Nidamanuru and Edwards hugely shifted the advantage back to Netherlands. Their stand came at a brisk pace as the duo did not miss out on any run-scoring opportunity. This composed partnership added 72 runs from 81 balls, and brought the required run rate to under four an over.
Though Nidamanuru fell in the 34th over, Edwards ensured that his side crossed the line with no more losses to get Netherlands their first two points in the competition. Earlier, disciplined bowling from the Netherlands ensured that USA were never able to break free.
The Dutch pacers were all over the USA in the first powerplay. Ryan Klein (2/31) and Logan van Beek (1/43) accounted for the USA top order within a space of 34 balls. Coming in at number five, Gajanand Singh tried to resurrect the innings with stand-in skipper Aaron Jones.
But USA fell in trouble when Jones fell to de Leede (2/37) off the final ball of the 14th over, and Gajanand (33) was dismissed by Vikramjit in the 23rd over. Just like in the last game, the task of rebuilding the American innings fell on Shayan Jahangir's shoulders.
The wicketkeeper-batter delivered, finding good support from Jessy. Jahangir's resilience was rewarded as the batter reached his fifty in the 38th over. As Jessy grew in confidence, he lofted huge sixes to complement Jahangir's positive approach.
The duo added 86 runs off 99 balls, before Jessy fell to Aryan Dutt. Unlike the last game, Jahangir wasn't able to finish off with a century against his name and fell for 71. The USA tail managed to hold on and somehow get the side beyond 200.
Brief Scores: Netherlands 214/5 in 43.2 overs (Scott Edwards 67 not out; Teja Nidamanuru 58; Jasdeep Singh 2/35) beat USA 211/8 in 50 overs (Shayan Jahangir 71 not out, Jessy Singh 33; Ryan Klein 2/31, Bas de Leede 2/37) by five wickets.
--IANS
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