Bas de Leede starred with both bat and ball as the Netherlands opened their account in the T20 World Cup with a convincing seven-wicket victory over Namibia.
The Netherlands suffered a narrow defeat by Pakistan after giving their opponents a major score in the opening game of the tournament in Colombo on Saturday but bounced back impressively in Delhi.
Chasing a target of 157, all-rounder De Leede, who had already picked up two key Namibia wickets, crafted an unbeaten 72 from 48 balls to guide them home with authority.
It is their biggest win in the tournament’s history while De Leede became the first Netherlands cricketer to score a half-century and take two wickets in the same match of a T20 World Cup.
Sent to bat in their first game of the tournament, Namibia made a decent start reaching 60-1 in nine overs before Logan van Beek dismissed Jan Frylinck, who scored 30 off 26 balls.
Namibia’s momentum was further halted by De Leede, who sent back their captain Gerhard Erasmus and JJ Smit for 18 and 22 respectively, while Nicol Loftie-Eaton fell to Van Beek after a 38-ball 42 as they posted 156-8.
The Netherlands lost opener Max O’Dowd early in the chase, but a 70-run third-wicket partnership between De Leede and Colin Ackerman steadied their innings before the latter departed for 32.
However, there was no stopping De Leede as he hit five fours and four sixes to seal the Netherlands win.
The Netherlands play the United States in their next match on Friday while Namibia will take on defending champions India on Thursday.