Nepal again too strong for the Dutch
Published at 10 June, 2025The Netherlands men’s team has not been able to win the second confrontation with Nepal. For a long time, ‘Oranje’ kept Nepal under control, but in the final overs a total was again achieved (236/9) that proved to be defendable as the Netherlands was all out for 220.
The recovered Scott Edwards came into the team for Vikram Singh. The first breakthrough came in the fifth over when Paul van Meekeren got Kushal Bhurtel played on (20/1).
Shortly after, Sah was dropped at first slip. The miss was not expensive, as Noah Croes took a fine diving catch off Van Meekeren’s bowling an over later (29/2/7). Sharki survived a colossal LBW appeal by Van Meekeren.
After the first Powerplay, spinners Dutt van Van der Merwe took over from the seamers. The run rate was not spectacular, but no wickets were taken either. That only happened shortly after the twentieth over, when Sharki (35) saw his second life end in the hands of Wesley Barresi at the leg side boundary (80/3), with Michael Levitt as bowler.
There were many bowling changes to prevent the batsmen from settling and perhaps even force a breakthrough. Levitt earned a second wicket when Paudel was dropped. This miss proved not to be costly either since Paudel (35) immediately hit a short ball into the hands of sweeper Teja Nidamanuru (106/4). Dipendra Singh Airee fell into the same elephant trap: ct Barresi, b Levitt, who finished with a career-best 3-49 in ten overs.
Remarkably, Nepal were given two five-run penalties because the batters, in the opinion of the umpire, tried to manipulate the crease too much with their spikes. This would (or could) work to the advantage of the Nepalese bowlers later in the match. It was all too much for Basir Ahamad; he hit a ball into the hands of O’Dowd at backward point and sprinted off the field (167/6).
Amidst these developments, Aarif Sheikh (84) quietly batted his way towards a fine half-century. Nepal still reached 236/9 after their fifty overs. Van Meekeren – now the all-time leading wicket taker for the Netherlands in ODIs – took 4-58, Levitt 3-49. Both spinners Van der Merwe and Dutt were economical and it was a miracle that paceman Kyle Klein remained wicketless.
Netherlands innings
The Netherlands started their innings with 10/0 on the board and therefore only had to chase 226 runs. A mistimed pull shot from O’Dowd in the fourth over did not help that target (24/1).
Legspinner Lamichhane and Nepal were lucky when Michael Levitt (27) was given LBW (65/2). Edwards and Barresi were cruising along nicely until a mistake by Barresi (36) led to 96/3. Not much later the score was 136/6 when Edwards (30) missed his favourite sweep shot and Nidamanuru (17) hit the ball into the hands of the mid on.
When Noah Croes (22) was trapped in front, rearguard action from Kyle Klein (25) and Roelof van der Merwe (16) was insufficient.
