New Delhi, Feb 10 (IANS) Bas de Leede produced a commanding all-round performance as the Netherlands beat Namibia by seven wickets in their Group A clash in 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday.

Asked to bat first, a disciplined bowling performance led to Namibia making 156/8 in their 20 overs. Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton top-scored with 42, while Gerhard Erasmus and JJ Smit hit brief cameos, but all of them failed to convert their good starts into a substantial knock.

The inability to build a decisive partnership also left Namibia short of posting a competitive total on a tacky pitch. Apart from de Leede picking two wickets in the middle overs, Logan van Beek, Aryan Dutt and Colin Ackermann also played their part in containing Namibia’s batters.

De Leede then took charge of the chase by unbeaten 72 off 48 balls, laced with five fours and four sixes at a strike-rate of 150. He muscled the ball to all parts of the ground, combining clean hitting with smart rotation of strike. His 70-run stand with Colin Ackermann steadied the chase, before captain Scott Edwards joined him to apply finishing touches, as the Netherlands reached the target with two overs to spare.

It was the Netherlands’ biggest win in terms of wickets in T20 World Cup history, and a timely response after their narrow three-wicket defeat to Pakistan in Colombo. Namibia, meanwhile, will reflect on missed opportunities in the field and a batting effort that never quite took off and prepare for correcting the mistakes when they take on defending champions India at the same venue on Thursday.

Dutt opened proceedings and created drama on the final ball when Louren Steenkamp nudged to the on-side for a single, but survived a run-out chance when Edwards accidentally dislodged a bail before gathering the ball.

With Dutt getting turn and bounce, he beat Steenkamp in flight and had him stumped by Edwards for six in his second over. Fred Klaassen’s introduction in the fourth over saw Frylinck begin a brief counterattack – flicking through midwicket for four and then launching straight over the bowler’s head for six.

After surviving lbw appeal off Ackermann, Loftie-Eaton smoked him for a towering six and later edged one for four, while Frylinck sliced him over cover to pick another boundary. After the partnership crossed the fifty-mark, Loftie-Eaton had twin reprieves on the same ball – de Leede dropping his chance at cover, while Ackermann failed to gather the ball in time to inflict a run-out.

Van Beek returned in the ninth over to break the 50-run stand by having Frylinck nick behind for 30. But Loftie-Eaton began to open up, lofting Ackermann over long-off and pulling with authority for six and four respectively.

Erasmus arrived with intent – hammering Timm van der Gugten for a six over long-on and two fours hit on both sides of the wicket in quick succession. But de Leede struck back in the 13th over, as Erasmus mistimed a pull to midwicket and fall for 18, while van Beek had Loftie-Eaton mistiming on an off-cutter and hole out to long-on.

JJ Smit broke free against Roelof van der Merwe by launching him cleanly over cow corner, before going down on one knee to smack it over long-off for a brace of sixes. But Netherlands made a late fightback which didn’t allow Namibia to have a great finishing flourish. De Leede struck again when he cramped Smit for room on a late cut and hit top of off-stump, while Klaassen returned to have Zane Green hole out to deep cover.

Ruben Trumpelmann was run-out in a mix-up with Dylan Leicher, as de Leede ran to the stumps to complete the dismissal, while debutant William Myburgh fell short of crease while taking a second run on the last ball of the innings, as Netherlands conceded only 26 runs in final three overs.

Netherlands’ chase of 157 began on a false note as Max O’Dowd never looked settled, and miscued a jab to mid-on off Bernard Scholtz. Michael Levitt took the early initiative, striking three clean sixes and a four to race to 28 off 15 balls, before slicing to cover off Ruben Trumpelmann.

By then, de Leede had already signaled intent with a muscular six over long-on off JJ Smit and from there, he and Ackermann stitched together a defining stand. They rotated strike smartly against spin, punished loose deliveries, and capitalized on Namibia’s missed chances – Ackermann was dropped on 14 in the ninth over by Steenkamp.

Ackermann grew in confidence, launching young Max Heingo for a massive six over midwicket, while de Leede showcased his range with crisp drives and powerful pulls. He hammered Gerhard Erasmus for a towering six over midwicket to bring up the Netherlands’ hundred, and then pumped Loftie-Eaton into the second tier for another maximum.

Ackermann’s dismissal for 32 briefly checked Netherlands’ momentum, but de Leede was already in full flow. He reached his fifty with an exquisite straight six Smit, and followed it up with back-to-back boundaries coming via slash and pull. His composure under pressure stood out – even as Namibia tried pace-off variations, de Leede continued to muscle the ball to all parts.

Edwards joined him for the finishing act by pulling Trumpelmann for four and then lifted Loftie-Eaton for a six over midwicket and be unbeaten on 18 off 9 balls. De Leede finished the chase in style by clipping Loftie-Eaton for six and then used the pace of the ball to cut past point to get an easy, clinical win for the Netherlands.

Brief Scores: Namibia 156/8 in 20 overs (Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton 42, Jan Frylinck 30; Logan van Beek 2-13, Bas de Leede 2-20) lost to Netherlands 159/3 in 18 overs (Bas de Leede 72 not out, Colin Ackermann 32; Bernard Scholtz 1-27, Ruben Trumpelmann 1-30) by seven wickets

–IANS

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