Hyderabad, Oct 9: They began cautiously and could not dominate from the very start. They did lose wickets at regular intervals as well. But consistent New Zealand, still managed to set a stiff target of 323 before Netherlands, here on Monday. In reply, Netherlands were 154/4 in 32 overs.
Earlier. ut into bat, the Black Caps scored 322/7 in the allotted 50 overs against the Dutch in the 6th match of the ICC ODI World Cup. Though three of their batters scored more than 50, but neither could convert that to a ton.
The top scorer for the Kiwis, was opener Will Young (70). India-origin sensational all-rounder Rachin Ravindra (51) and stand-in skipper Tom Lotham (53) impressed with the willow too.
Will Young, who departed early in their opening match against England, began rather cautiously today. But with flamboyant Devon Conway at the other end, they both perhaps decided to survive the initial challenges and then play freely.
They executed that plan with perfection.The opening pair put up 67 runs in the first 12.1 overs. However, Conway departed after scoring 32 in 40 balls, He hit 5 boundaries and one six in his innings.
Young was joined by Rachin Ravindra, the first match hero. Both batters had no problem in tackling the Netherlands attack. Will Young held his nerves and then played with authority to score a fine half century (70in 80 balls).
Rachin too scored run-a-ball 51. Darryl Mitchell maintained the tempo by a useful 48 in 47 balls. Mitchell was rather unlucky to miss his half century.
Glenn Phillips and Mark Chapman had brief stays at the wicket. Philips scored 4, while Chapman could manage only 5.
Later on spin all-rounder Mitchell Santner toyed with the Dutch attack, as he played a 17-ball cameo, scoring 36 runs in the final overs.
For Netherlands, Aryan Dutt, Paul van Meekeren and Roelof van der Morwe claimed two wickets each. Bas de Leede got the other Dutch wicket that fell.
However, in absence of injured skipper Kane Williamson, New Zealand were led by their vice captain and wicketkeeper-batsman Tom Lotham in this match too.
Do the Kiwis miss their regular skipper and prolific batter Kane Williamson? That seems 50:50. The reason being they continue to do what they do best, i.e., fight to their maximum might in all situations. Their World Cup records reveal that clearly.
They might not have won the World Cup even once, but the Blacl Caps are one of the most consistent sides in the ICC World Cups either in ODIs or T20s.
