Pringle and Co stifle Nepal as Netherlands open their account
Netherlands 109 for 4 (O'Dowd 54*, Vikramjit 22, Airee 1-6) beat Nepal 106 (Paudel 35, Pringle 3-20, Van Beek 3-18, Van Meekeren 2-19) by six wickets
Tim Pringle and Logan van Beek's three-wicket hauls backed up by Max O'Dowd's patient half-century got Netherlands over the line in a nervy chase in their opening game of the T20 World Cup 2024, against a spirited Nepal in Dallas.
It was a rude welcome for Nepal in their first T20 World Cup in a decade, with the Netherlands bowlers putting up a fine show and bowling them out for a mere 106 in 19.2 overs. But Nepal weren't done yet. They squeezed the Netherlands batters in the middle overs and took the chase into the 19th over. O'Dowd, however, held his own with an unbeaten 54. He rode his luck and made sure to take his side over the line by six wickets and eight balls to spare.
Early-morning rain and overcast conditions delayed the toss by 30 minutes and Netherlands captain Scott Edwards had no hesitations in bowling after winning the toss. The bowlers backed up their captain's decision with Pringle, van Beek, Paul van Meekeren and Bas de Leede all getting among the wickets.
In reply, Nepal put up a fight but dropped a couple of crucial chances at key intervals.
Dallas turns blue and red, but Orange holds sway
The Grand Prairie Stadium can seat 7000 but the vocal Nepal fans made it feel a lot bigger, flocking in nice and early getting behind their team. But the overcast conditions assisted the Netherlands seamers and they got their first wicket through left-arm spinner Pringle, whose decision to keep giving the ball flight paid off as Aasif Sheikh's thick outside edge found short third in the second over. Pacer van Beek then struck with his first ball, angling a length ball sharply back into Kushal Bhurtel and catching him plumb in front.