The Dutch Find New Rear-Guard Heroes in Sybrand Engelbrecht And Logan Ven Beek

Netherlands and their habit of turning around things have been the trend in this World Cup. An inspired Sri Lankan pace attack may have scythed the top-order for a lowly score, hinting at the pre-mature end of the Dutch innings at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow.

But the moment it all seemed gloomy for the men in orange, two men – Sybrand Engelbrecht and Logan van Beek – stepped up and did the unexpected. Or was it really?

A 130-run partnership off 143 balls brought the Dutch side back to life, showcasing the art of playing spin bowling under the sun. It’s now the highest stand for the 7th wicket or below in the World Cups, surpassing the 40-year-old record, 126-run not out, set by the pair of Kapil Dev and Syed Kirmani against Zimbabwe in the 1983 World Cup.

Netherlands were all on the mat after the Lankan pacers – Kasun Rajitha and Dilshan Madushanka – hunted in pairs on a used strip, which had previously seen South Africa stun 5-time World Champions Australia on October 12.

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Early in the innings, the Dutch were taken by surprise as Rajitha trapped Vikramjit Singh with a juicy inswinger, and then took down the likes of Colin Ackerman and Max O’Dowd with outswingers to reduce the Netherlands to 54 for 3.

Once Rajitha took a backseat after bowling 7 overs straight, Madushanka had his share of success with the scalps of Bas de Leede and Teja Nidamanuru.

With just 71 runs in 18.4 overs and half the side back into the hut, it was once again up to captain Scott Edwards who played the innings of his lifetime in Dharamsala last week. But Lucknow treated him differently as he was the only Dutch batter who fell prey to a spinner –– and even the DRS didn’t go his way.

The boundaries had dried up and frustration was taking over the Netherlands. After hitting eight boundaries (4×7, 6×1) in the first ten overs, the next boundary for the Dutch came after 20.5 overs, courtesy of an Engelbrecht sweep that was more out of desperation that anything else. The former SA Under-19 star Engelbrecht and all-rounder Logan van Beek took some deep breaths, soaked in the pressure and upped the ante.

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Spinners attacked them from both ends but the duo faced them with grit and cracked the code with time. Meanwhile, the Lankans, who excelled in the morning, were biting the dust as the day progressed. The flow of boundaries was still not fluent but the duo compensated for it with their running between the wickets.

A re-narration of Dharamsala tale

If not the captain, then it had to be someone else but giving up is not an option for the Dutch. Dharamsala saw a gritty knock from Edwards that provided the Dutch bowlers some breathing space and they made a match out of it.

The situation was similar in Lucknow but the onus was perfectly shouldered by the lower-order batters, a trait that speaks volumes about the determination of the Netherlands camp. After all, they are aiming to make the ICC World Cup 2023 semis and the way ahead is no cakewalk.

With patience came runs and the responsibility turned into enjoyment when Engelbrecht and Van Beek notched up their fifties. The former got his half-century off 65 balls and brought up the 100-partnership shortly. Van Beek, on the other hand, played the second fiddle and shifted gears after being given another life by Maheesh Tekhshana in the 43rd over with a dropped catch near covers.

The Lankan comeback

Madushanka bounced back in the death over and breached the century stand with a yorker that rattled Engelbrecht’s middle stump. But, he had done his job. A fine 70-run innings, comprising of 4 boundaries and a six came to an end, but Van Beek kept the process going.

The latter had his first ODI fifty, in the 27th innings, off 68 balls which he is going to remember for a long time to come. An elated Van Beek whacked a good length ball for a six after going deep into his crease but the fireworks were short-lived as he became the fourth victim of Madushanka in the penultimate over.

87 runs in the last 10 overs

The Netherlands changed the course of the game in the second half of the innings, adding 87 runs in the last 10 overs to set Sri Lanka a 263-run target. The lower-middle order was once again at work, bailing out the Dutch side from a nightmarish situation.

Record for Sri Lanka

Both Rajitha and Madushanka pocketed four wickets each. This was the first instance since 2007 when two Sri Lanka bowlers bagged 4 wickets or more in a World Cup innings. Muttiah Muralitharan and Farveez Maharoof returned figures of 4/19 and 4/25, respectively against Ireland in Grenada in the 2007 edition of the World Cup.