Netherlands beat Bangladesh by 87 runs
A polished bowling effort matched skipper Scott Edwards' tenacious half-century as the Netherlands once again punched above their weight to defeat Bangladesh by 87 runs in the World Cup in Kolkata on Saturday. Edwards overcame an erratic start to score his second World Cup fifty and lead them to a modest 229 all out after opting to bat on a fresh Eden surface hosting its first match of the global tournament. Bangladesh found themselves 'at home,' with the 15,000-strong audience rooting for them to resurrect their campaign after losing four games in a row.But their batters once again put on a lacklustre performance, unable to cope with the extra bounce, as the Netherlands bowlers, led by Paul van Meekeren (7.2-0-23-4), aced the conditions to bowl them out for 142 in 42.2 overs.Four single-digit scores from their top six batters summed up Bangladesh's woes as they once again failed to live up to expectations.Bas de Leede got 2/25 in seven overs, with Aryan Dutt, Logan van Beek, and Colin Ackermann each taking one.Bangladesh suffered their fifth defeat in a row, and their campaign is all but gone with three matches remaining.They will face Pakistan in the seventh round on Tuesday.If defeating South Africa wasn't enough, the Dutch, the tournament's sole Associate Nation, demonstrated that they are considerably superior to the Test-playing nation by carrying out their plans with clinical perfection to win.Bangladesh were exposed early by a lively Dutch attack, from Litton Das' (3) uncalled-for reverse sweep to off-spinner Aryan Dutt early in the innings to his opening partner Tanzid Hasan's (15) inability to handle with the odd bounce from short of length deliveries.The two dismissals in consecutive wicket-maiden overs shocked Bangladesh to its core.After that, Shanto and Mehidy Hasan Miraz batted with purpose, putting on a 26-run stand off 39 balls to restore Bangladesh's hopes. But Paul van Meekeren cut it short by throwing a wide yorker at Shanto.Miraz continued to play the aggressor with captain Shakib Al Hasan's company, but not for long.The skipper struck five off 14 balls after returning from a brief session with his personal coach in Dhaka, but was undone by the extra bounce off Van Meekeren.Miraz was out just as the occasion necessitated that he show some restraint, leaving his team reeling at 69/5 in 16.5 overs.Earlier, trying to turn things around following four straight losses, Bangladesh made shrewd bowling changes and their attack looked lethal.However, complacency in fielding ensured that the Dutchmen survived after losing half of their side for 107 runs in 27 overs.Edwards was dropped three times on duck and once on 12 when his edge soared past the three-man slip cordon.Edwards scored 78 runs for the sixth wicket with Sybrand Engelbrecht (35) before Mustafizur Rahman ended the Dutch captain's perilous innings.Mustafizur (2/36) was the pick of the Bangladesh attack, and his wickets of the dangerous-looking Wesley Barresi (41) in the middle overs and the Dutch skipper at the end kept Bangladesh within 230 runs.Bangladesh got off to a flying start after Edwards chose to bat, thanks to the new-ball attack of Shoriful Islam (10-0-51-2) and a fit-again Taskin Ahmed (9-1-43-2).Taskin, who missed their matches against India and South Africa due to a bad shoulder, removed Vikramjit Singh in his first over.Shoriful then dismissed Max O'Dowd for a duck, leaving the Netherlands at 4/2 in the third over, before Baressi played the most interesting knock of the Dutch innings.Barresi, the tournament's oldest player, led the pace with his run-a-ball knock, capitalising on Taskin and Shoriful's onslaught.The 39-year-old, the only surviving member of the Netherlands team from the 2011 World Cup, began with a leg-side flick to boundary against Shoriful and then added another boundary in the same over.Taskin appeared to be at his best in his first spell, but Barresi was unfazed, pulling him in front of square leg and then gracefully lofting him over the mid-off zone for two boundaries in one over.The pair quickly raced to a fifty-run partnership until a brilliant bowling change shattered the stand.