Netherlands 229 (Edwards 68, Barresi 41, Mustafizur 2-36, Mahedi 2-40) beat Bangladesh 142 (Mehidy 35, van Meekeren 4-23, de Leede 2-25) by 87 runs
The victory was arguably made sweeter by virtue of it coming in Kolkata, where Bangladesh had support as close to home backing as they are likely to get this World Cup, with the short flight in from Dhaka offering many fans easy access.
But in the end, it would be a journey ending in frustration – many were seen leaving the stadium early – as a well-drilled Dutch outfit trumped their much more experienced counterparts in nearly all facets of the game.
This was primarily a victory built on the now customary rearguard heroics of captain Edwards – his entire clan in attendance at the stadium to cheer him on – as he stitched together his second fifty of the tournament, an 89-ball 68.
What will particularly hurt Bangladesh is that they could have seen the back of him before he even got going – twice dropped on zero – but that in a microcosm was the difference between the two sides. While both teams struggled with the bat, the Dutch persevered to get to a fighting total, and while both sets of bowlers kept things tight to create chances through pressure, it was the Dutch who capitalised on them with ferocity; Bangladesh, on the other hand, were left to rue their missed opportunities.
Such fortune though would be for nought without proper backing and, like they had done so impressively against South Africa, the bowlers and fielders once more ensured that their skipper’s efforts did not go in vain.
In the face of this Dutch exuberance, Bangladesh floundered in their chase, unable to match their opponents’ energy. They lost wickets at regular intervals, unable to string together partnerships of any reasonable length – 38 was their highest – as a middling chase fast became a daunting and, eventually, impossible one.
That hardly seemed the case midway through the Dutch innings, though, when having won the toss and elected to bat, they suffered yet another top-order collapse. Only a late surge at the death where they scored 74 in the last ten overs, including 36 in the final three, got them to their eventually winning total.
But another pair of wickets once more set Netherlands back as the two set batters, Barresi and Colin Ackermann, fell in quick succession to Mustafizur Rahman and Shakib, respectively. It was at that point the spinners began their slow strangle, as none of Shakib, Mehidy or Mahedi Hasan conceded more than four an over across the middle overs. Indeed, it was only in the final over of the innings that Netherlands showed any sort of aggression against spin, taking Mahedi for 17.
And so it was that Edwards was once more tasked to patch his side up, first with de Leede and then Sybrand Engelbrecht. With de Leede, he scrounged 44 off 74, and with Engelbrecht, a slightly quicker 78 off 105.
Throughout those stands there was hardly a highlight that could be extracted or stroke played in anger, with the intent simply to knock it around and bat as deep as possible. An understandable endeavour considering Edwards had entered the fray with his side on a perilous 63 for 3, which soon became 63 for 4.
But when he departed 30 overs later, he had dragged them to a slightly more respectable 185 for 6, before the late hitting took them to a fighting total.
At the time that seemed below par, especially with many expecting the surface to favour the batters. However, with the ball starting to stick in the pitch and take some turn, it was Netherlands who adapted better and showed the wherewithal to come through victorious in the end.
