Netherlands captain Edwards rues missed opportunity against NZ

Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], October 9 (ANI): Netherlands captain Scott Edwards was rueful and expressed his disappointment at the game slipping from their grasp against New Zealand in their World Cup match.

New Zealand enjoyed their second consecutive victory in the ongoing World Cup as spinners orchestrated Netherlands downfall to clinch a comfortable 99-run victory at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Monday.

The Netherlands lost wickets at regular intervals with Mitchell Santner leading the charge with the ball. His bewitching spell made it hard for the Dutch batters to survive on the pitch.

The Netherlands fell 99 runs short of New Zealand’s total of 322/7 in Hyderabad.

“We were pretty good in the first 40 overs. They got away from us in the last 3 overs which pushed the score a little bit further than we were hoping. If we could hold them to the 280-300 mark, the wicket gets a little better at night. NZ are a disciplined bowling attack. They are not going to make it easy for you. You are not going to chase down 321 with 40s, 50s and 60s. We will speak about that with the boys,” Edwards said during a post-match presentation.

The Dutch batted well on occasions but couldn’t click as a unit.

“Come the next few games, we have to put on bigger partnerships and bigger scores. For us, it’s another game, we have to play our best cricket and try to win,” he added.

The Dutch batted well on occasions but couldn’t click as a unit. Colin Ackermann scored the highest for the Dutch with an outstanding 69 off 73 while Scott Edwards (30) and Sybrand Engelbrecht (29) contributed from the other end.

Netherlands will take on South Africa in their third match of the World Cup here at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala on October 17. (ANI)