Sports Desk

Hyderabad: New Zealand continued their astounding form and recorded a crucial 99-run win against the Netherlands in the sixth match of the ICC World Cup 2023 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad, India on Monday.

An all-round performance by the Black Caps strengthened their position on the top as after beating England in the World Cup opener, the Kiwis defeated the Dutch in a one-sided contest courtesy of Mitchell Santner’s masterclass with the ball and the bat.

Chasing the target of 323 runs, the Dutch were off to a bad start as their openers — Vikramjti Singh and Max O’Dowd — failed to give their side a considerable start.

However, the experienced middle-order batter Colin Ackermann provided his side a much-needed breakthrough by scoring 69 off 73 but his heroics weren’t enough as the Dutch kept on losing wickets at regular intervals and were soon all-out for 223 runs.

Skipper and wicketkeeper-batter Scott Edwards was the second top-scorer for his side contributing 30 runs.

Santner picked the first five-wicket haul of this World Cup, taking five for 59 in 10 overs, Matt Henry bagged three while Rachin Ravindra picked one.

Batting first, the top-five batters of New Zealand — Devon Conway, Will Young, Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell and skipper Tom Latham — all contributed considerable runs and got their side in a dominating position.

However, during the last 10 overs, the Kiwis lost two wickets in quick succession but Santner’s late strikes led Black Caps to 322 runs in 50 overs.

The 31-year-old scored 36 off just 17 deliveries which included five boundaries.

New Zealand will now play Bangladesh in their next encounter on October 13 on the spinning wicket of Chennai while the Netherlands will face South Africa on October 17 in Dharamshala.

Playing XIs

New Zealand: Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (c & wk), Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult

Netherlands: Vikramjit Singh, Max ODowd, Colin Ackermann, Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Scott Edwards (c & wk), Sybrand Engelbrecht, Roelof van der Merwe, Ryan Klein, Aryan Dutt, Paul van Meekeren