Dutch put up brave but futile fight, SA and Zim clash in rain-drenched tie

Dutch all-rounder Colin Ackermann nearly pulls off an upset against an experienced Bangladesh team

All teams in the Super-12 stage of the ICC men’s T20 World Cup 2022 have now played their first match. In the two Group-2 ties on Monday, Bangladesh held off a belligerent Netherlands while the African derby between South Africa and Zimbabwe ended in a no-contest thanks to the rain gods of Hobart.

I say “belligerent Netherlands” but it was all-rounder Colin Ackermann who nearly pulled off an upset single-handedly by scoring a fiery 62 off 48 balls, with 6 fours and 2 sixes. The Netherlands won the toss and put Bangladesh to bat first. Bangladesh scrapped through to 144 for the loss of 8 wickets at the end of their 20 overs of batting, with middle-order batter Afif Hossain scoring 39 off 27 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes. The Dutch kept chipping away at the Bangla batting order with timely dismissals, preventing any true partnership to flourish. With seven Dutch bowlers in the fray, all but Ackermann found themselves in the wicket tally. He however made up for his blank bowling slate with a brilliant yet measured batting show which, along with Scott Edwards’ 16 off 24, nearly brought the Neds home.

The Bangla bowlers, however, did not quite let the Dutch line-up to take wings. Leading the charge was Taskin Ahmed who scalped 4 in his 4 overs, with an economy rate of 6.25 and 16 dots. Hasan Mahmud and Mustafizur Rahman too stiffened the run flow with tight bowling, forcing the Netherlands to score at a sluggish rate of 6.7. Ahmed was awarded the Man of the Match award for his efforts.

For the second game of the day, another blistering knock, this time by the Proteas’ Quinton de Kock almost handed the victory to his team, before the rain forced them to share a point with Zimbabwe. Choosing to bat first, the Zimbabwean innings had begun with a flurry of quick dismissals before Wessely Madhevere and Milton Shumba built a 53-run partnership to give them a competitive 75-run total for a reduced-over match.

In response de Kock ran away with an electric start, smashing 23 runs in the first over alone. The play was briefly halted due to rain, but de Kock picked up where he had left, amassing a total of 47 runs from 18 balls before the game was stopped again, with SA needing only 13 runs to win. De Kock hit 8 fours and a single six during his blitz.

After Monday’s matches, India and Bangladesh are equal in points in Group 2, with Bangla beating India in the net run rate. They are followed by SA and Zimbabwe sitting with a point each. Pakistan and Netherlands are at the bottom, yet to register a win.