The Netherlands pulled off a sensational 38-run win over an in-form South Africa on Tuesday night to keep their campaign alive in the ICC World Cup 2023 in Dharamsala.
Chasing a 246 for victory in 43 overs, the Proteas choked again and were bundled out for 207 in 42.5 overs as the Dutch caused the second-biggest upset of the tournament after Afghanistan's stunning win over England two nights ago.
Bowlers stop star-studded SA batting lineup
Roelof van der Merwe, Bas de Leede, Paul van Meekeren and Logan van Beek bagged a couple of wickets each while Colin Ackermann took one to stop South Africa from registering a hat-trick of wins in this edition.
The Dutch climbed above Sri Lanka to take ninth place on the points table. Lanka is now the only team in this edition which is yet to win a match.
This was the Netherlands' third win in the ODI World Cups out of the 21 matches played in five editions since 1996.
Earlier in the match, rain interrupted the start and delayed proceedings up to a point where the officials reduced the 50-overs to 43 per side.
Scott Edwards leads Dutch recovery
Captain and wicketkeeper Scott Edwards led from the front as he top-scored with 78 runs to help his team post 245 for 8 after they were reduced to 140 for 7 by the Proteas.
It was the 8th-wicket partnership worth 64 runs between Edwards and van der Merwe (29) which got them past the 200-run mark before the skipper added another 41 with Aryan Dutt (23*) to take the team to a respectable total.
SA's death bowling woes
South Africa expectedly opted to bowl amid the overcast sky and their bunch of formidable pacers including Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen and Lungi Ngidi, got a lot out of the surface.
However, their death overs bowling left a lot to be desired as the Netherlands plundered 68 runs in the last five overs.
