T20 World Cup 2022: Netherlands beat Namibia in last-over thriller to go top of Group A

SOUTH GEELONG: An all-round performance from Bas de Leede guided the Netherlands to a thrilling win over Namibia in the qualifiers of the T20 World Cup 2022 at Kardinia Park on Tuesday.

The Netherlands have leaped to the top of Group A and are well placed to qualify for the Super 12 stage of the global event.

Namibia posted paltry 121 runs on the scoreboard after opting to bat first, which the Netherlands chased down in 19.3 overs after a thrilling contest.

De Leede starred for the Dutch nation as he claimed two wickets and scored 30 runs to lead his side to victory.

Opening duo Vikramjit Singh (39) and Max O'Dowd (35) got the Netherlands off to a bright start and the victory target was always within reach, with De Leede's knock enough to win the match.

For Namibia, JJ Smit claimed two wickets, while Bernard Scholtz and Jan Frylinck took a scalp each.

Earlier, Jan Frylinck (43) top-scored for Namibia, but the left-hander chewed up plenty of valuable deliveries during the middle overs as the Netherlands' bowlers were on top.

Two of Namibia's most aggressive batters, David Wiese (11*) and JJ Smit (5*), had a brief moment in the middle at the end of the inning.

The pair actually scored 12 from Timm van der Gugten's last over to give their total some modesty.

The Netherlands used seven different bowlers to topple their opponents' batting order, with De Leede taking two wickets.

Bowlers shine as Sri Lanka thrash UAE 

Sri Lankan bowlers shined to help the Asian champions thrash United Arab Emirates (UAE) in their second match of the qualifiers at Kadinia Park.

UAE win the toss and opted to bowl first. Sri Lanka posted 152 runs on the scoreboard before bowling out the associate member for 73 runs in 17.1 overs.

Three of UAE's first four victims were cleaned up as Dushmantha Chameera and Pramod Madushan put on an exhibition of fast bowling, swinging and seaming the new ball around.

UAE struggled to get going, losing four wickets inside the Powerplay to be reduced to 21/4. Wanindu Hasaranga came on to pile on UAE's woes and the scorecard soon read 42/7 in 12 overs with Sri Lanka eyeing a huge win.

16-year-old Aayan Afzal Khan was the top-scorer for the UAE, scoring 19 runs in 21 balls before getting out to Hasaranga, who claimed three scalps.

Earlier, a Karthik Meiyappan-inspired UAE put on a great performance to restrict Sri Lanka to 152 runs. However, it wasn't enough for UAE as their batting order collapsed.

The opening partnership worth 42 runs between Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis got the Asia Cup champions off to a great start. Despite the wicket of Mendis in the fifth over, Shanaka's men were the happier side at the end of the Powerplay with over 50 runs.

This was followed by a 50-run stand between Dhananjaya de Silva and Nissanka. The all-rounder was the aggressor between the two, smashing a 21-ball 33 consisting of three fours and a six before a run-out brought his innings to a premature end.

Nissanka, who got to his fifty in the same over as the hat trick, got a move on and helped Sri Lanka post a competitive total. 

Apart from Meiyappan, Zahoor Khan claimed two wickets, while Aayan and Aryan bagged a wicket each.

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