“I can’t really explain it,” Player of the Match Logan van Beek said. Netherlands, chasing 375 against West Indies, were deep in trouble with 205 required from the remaining 125 balls with only six wickets in hand. Who would have known they would end up getting 204 of them in a frenetic finish that would force the game into a Super Over?
And if you thought that was enough excitement for the day, van Beek bashed 4, 6, 4, 6, 6, 4 to smash the record for most runs in a one-over eliminator. In reply, West Indies lost two wickets for eight runs, and that was it. Netherlands took two vital points into the Super Six of the World Cup Qualifier, leaving West Indies with nothing to carry forward after being beaten by both Netherlands and Zimbabwe. The two-time World Cup champions are now teetering, their hopes of making the World Cup proper hanging by a thread.
Before van Beek batted like a free spirit, it was Teja Nidamanuru and his captain Scott Edwards who made that finish possible, adding 143 for the fifth wicket to give Netherlands hope from the most helpless of situations. That stand consumed only 90 deliveries. West Indies stormed back, though, taking 3 for 14 in a hurry to leave Netherlands needing 30 from the last two overs.
At the crease was none other than van Beek. The first three legal balls of the 49th over, bowled by Roston Chase, disappeared for 4, 6, 4. Nine needed off six balls. Four more from van Beek. But there was a twist. With one to get from the last ball, he swiped to mid-on, where Jason Holder tumbled to his right to grab the ball. It would be given out only after the third umpire made sure Alzarri Joseph hadn’t overstepped.
Van Beek hit 28 at a strike rate of 200 during the run chase after Nidamaduru belted 111 off just 76 balls, with 11 fours and three sixes. Edwards, meanwhile, smashed 67 from 47. Not only did they find boundaries at will, they also made the West Indies fielders look ragged, converting ones into twos and twos into threes. Every run counted towards a remarkable Super Over win.
The game was set up by West Indies’ centurion Nicholas Pooran. After half-centuries from Brandon King and Johnson Charles laid a solid foundation, Pooran added 108 with Shai Hope for the fourth wicket in less than 13 overs.
Pooran was on 7 off 17 balls at one stage. He then took Saqib Zulfiqar for a four and a six in the 35th over. In the 39th, he targeted the same bowler with a six and four again, before reaching his fifty in the 40th with another run of boundaries off Vivian Kingma.
West Indies added 118 in the last ten overs. Pooran reached his second century of the World Cup Qualifier in the penultimate over, before Keemo Paul took over, ransacking Aryan Dutt for 20 in the final over to propel West Indies to 374. Who knew even that wouldn’t prove enough?
Brief Scores:
West Indies 374/6 in 50 overs (Nicholas Pooran 105*, Brandon King 76; Saqib Zulfiqur 2-43) vs Netherlands 374/9 in 50 overs (Teja Nidamanuru 111, Scott Edwards 67; Roston Chase 3-77). Match Tied, Netherlands win in Super Over
(Cricinfo)
