A controlled bowling performance from Bangladesh helped them to keep Netherlands to an under-par score at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Saturday (October 28). On a surface that was a throwback to the pitches of yesteryear at this venue, Bangladesh’s bowling attack relished themselves as they managed to curb the Dutch batters right through the innings. Dutch skipper Scott Edwards (68) produced another crisis knock but his half-century was the only innings of substance as Netherlands kept losing wickets at regular intervals. If not for the 50th over assault by Logan van Beek, the eventual total of 229 might have been much lesser.

Opting to bat, the Netherlands top-order once again struggled against the new ball and they found themselves at 63/4 in the 15th over. While the initial overs seemed to suggest another modern day Eden surface that assists the pacers, it was soon evident that the track was on the slower side with a bit of two-paced nature to it. Veteran Wesley Barresi, playing his first game of the tournament, looked in good touch even as the wickets fell around him but he was the first victim for Mustafizur Rahman who endured an excellent outing with the ball. The Dutch batters were unable to find the right tempo for their innings and couldn’t adapt properly to the sluggish nature of the deck.

Sybrand Engelbrecht dug in and supported his skipper as the duo added a vital 78-run stand to stabilise the Dutch innings. Yet again, it needed a lower middle-order act to repair the innings but unlike the previous games where they had launched at the back end, the final flurry never came for Netherlands today. As the ball got older, pace-off deliveries were that much harder to get away and it meant that it suited the methods of Bangladesh’s bowling unit. Even while Edwards and Engelbrecht were in the middle, runs came at a premium. Eventually, once the Netherlands skipper fell, the innings capitulated.

For most parts, Bangladesh were flawless with their execution and it was only at the very end when Mahedi Hasan leaked a few runs that they got sloppy. The off-spinner got his radar wrong against the tail and then got smashed for 17 runs in the final over of the innings by van Beek. That cameo gave some respite to Netherlands who now have a respectable score to work with but it is still well below par on this pitch.

Brief scores:Netherlands 229 in 50 overs (Scott Edwards 68, Wesley Barresi 41; Mustafizur Rahman 2-36, Mahedi Hasan 2-40) vs Bangladesh