ODI World Cup 2023: Netherlands vs Bangladesh, Match 28 - Who Said What?

The cricketing world witnessed another upset in the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023, as the Netherlands squared off against Bangladesh in match no. 28 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Saturday, October 28. The Scott Edwards-led side was seen shattering the dreams of many Bangladeshi cricket fans with their stupendous show on Saturday. The batting, the bowling, the fielding – everything was near-perfect for their side, as they find themselves eighth on the points table with two wins in six games.

After winning the toss, Edwards said that their team would bat first. However, the decision seemed to have backfired, as they were 63/4 at one stage. Then the skipper partnered up with the lower-middle order to recover from the shaky start and took the team total to 229 at the end of 50 overs. In reply, Shakib Al Hasan's men were clueless, as they succumbed to a defeat at the hands of the Dutch by 87 runs.

Talking Points

Scott Edwards' captain's knock:

At a stage where Scott Edwards must have regretted his decision to bat first, he took the onus upon himself to bring the team back on track. He played truly a captain's knock while batting under tremendous pressure, which eventually helped his side reach a manageable total on the board. His knock of 68 runs off 89 balls was studded with six fours before he fell prey to Mustafizur Rahman.

Paul van Meekeren's fantastic outing:

While the target the Dutch were defending wasn't huge, their bowlers had to step up to the occasion to see the team through. And it was Paul van Meekeren who struck with important breakthroughs at the right spots to end with a brilliant four-fer. He got the better of Najmul Hossain Shanto, Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, and Taskin Ahmed and stood between Bangla Tigers and victory. He ended his 10-over spell with four wickets while giving away just 23 runs.

Who Said What

Losing skipper Shakib Al Hasan said: I thought we bowled very well. We should have restricted them to 160-170. We have been very poor with the bat throughout the tournament. This is as bad as it gets. It is very difficult from here. We need to take this on our chin. Throughout this tournament, we have been struggling. Not sure what's going on the minds. Very unlike the Bangladesh team. The fans have been supporting us through our ups and downs.

Winning skipper Scott Edwards said: I think it was easy to be fair. We only had two days off. We were straight into travelling and into our plans. We were saying if we could get 220 plus, we were in the game. The bottom order guys got us to a very competitive total. The bowlers have been awesome. We have been superb on the field. Bit of everything. The system is getting more professional in Netherlands. We train incredibly hard. We always spoke at the start of the tournament that we aim for the semis. That remains our goal but we have a few tough games coming up.

Paul van Meekeren (POTM) said: "Pretty special. We said we wanted to go for the semis, you need to win games. Very happy with how we bounced back after Australia. We were pretty confident. At the halfway mark of our innings we thought 230-240 [par score] and we got there. Dutt and van Beek kept it very tight in the first ten overs. Every training we come in and do 20 minutes of fielding. Bassy [Bas de Leede] got a good throw at the stumps tonight. Hard to pick an individual performance. Pure team performance."

Also check: ODI World Cup 2023 Points Table