Pune, Nov 8: Electing to bat first, England scored 339/9 in 50 overs against the Netherlands in the 40th match of the ICC ODI Men's World Cup at the MCA Ground, here on Wednesday.
The highlight o the superb English recovery was the rescue act by their proven all-rounders duo Ben Stokes (108 in 84 balls) and Chris Woakes (51 in 45 balls).
At one point, England were struggling at 192/6 in 35.2 overs. It was only for Stokes' initial resistance and then his aggression, with able support from Woakes, that helped them to post a competitive total.
Baring Stokes, all other top order batters were back in the pavilion by 36th over. But then the master of several England fight back in recent years Stokes in company of Woakes had a 129-run 7th wicket partnership to take their score beyond 300.
The other England batter who dazzled with the willow on the day was opening batsman Dawid Malan, who impressed with his 87-run compact performance.
Earlier in the England innings, attacking opener Jonny Bairstow was out caught at backward square leg by Paul van Meekeren, as he mistimed a delivery on the leg stump by right-arm off spinner Aryan Dutt. England got their first shock with score-card revealing 48/1 in 7 overs.
Dawid Malan stood firm and hit a fine half century. Together with seasoned Joe Root, Malan tried to consolidate the English innings.
Malan and Root had an almost error free 85-run partnership for the second wicket. But then they both departed in quick succession, much to England's dismay.
Root, who as usual played an anchor role, scored 28 in 35 balls, before being bowled by Logan van Beek.
Malan dominated the Dutch bowlers in his attacking 74-ball 87-run innings, with 10 fours and three hits to the gallery. He was run out with a fine piece of fielding by Logan van Beek at point, as keeper Scott Edwards completed the formalities.
Harry Brook failed to impress with the bat again and fell for 11 in 16 balls. He was caught by Colin Ackermann at square leg of right-arm fast medium Bas de Leede.
England captain Jos Buttler's horrible run in the World Cup 2023 continued as he was sent back by Paul van Meekeren, who got him caught by Teja Nidamanuru. Buttler could manage only 5 in 11 balls. After his dismissal, England once again looked in trouble with 178/5 in 30.1 overs.
Moeen Ali too departed early caught by Bas de Leede at long-off as Aryan Dutt got his second victim. England were struggling at 192/6 in 35.2 overs.
The hero of several recent England epic wins, Ben Stokes was stood firm at the centre-stage with pace bowling all-rounder Chris Woakes. Ben Stokes hit a superb century and Woakes gave him good support, as England crossed the coveted 300-run mark.
However, trying to accelerate in the final overs, Woakes (51) departed in the penultimate over. David Willey (6 in 2 balls) too was out in the final ball of the 49th over.
Stokes was the last to go. His 87-ball heroics was ended by Logan van Beek, who got him caught in the deep by Sybrand Engelbrecht, with only two balls left in the innings.
Among the Dutch bowlers, Bas de Leede topped the bowling chart with 3/74 figure. Aryan Dutt and Logan van Beek claimed two wickets each, while Ackermann had a solitary scalp.
Both England and the Netherlands are languishing at the bottom of the Points Table among the 10 teams in the tournament. The 2019 ODI World Cup champions England ,with only one win are placed at 10th place and with two victories, the Netherlands are just one place above them.
Both teams had changes in their playing XI.
England XI:
Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Harry Brook, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (Captain and wicket-keeper), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, David Willey, Adil Rashid and Gus Atkinson.
Netherlands XI:
Wesley Barresi, Max O'Dowd, Colin Ackermann, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Scott Edwards (captain and wicketkeeper), Teja Nidamanuru, Bas de Leede, Logan van Beek, Roelof van der Merwe, Aryan Dutt and Paul van Meekeren.
