World Twenty20, Highlights: New Zealand beat Netherlands by six wickets after initial hiccups

New Zealand beat Netherlands by six wickets in a Group 1 fixture at Chittagong. Catch highlights here: (Match scorecard | Text Commentary | Points Table | Innings report)

 

18:20 (IST): So a good win by New Zealand in the end after a little wobble up front chasing 152 vs Netherlands. They won comprehensively by six wickets in the end courtesy an excellent knock by captain Brendon McCullum (65 off 45 balls) for which he was also awarded the Man of the Match. Netherlands skipper Peter Borren said that he was looking forward to the game against England to cause another upset, the way they did in 2009. Brendon McCullum said that their team will be focusing on a win against Sri Lanka now to seal their semifinal spot in the World T20 tournament. There's another great game between England and South Africa coming up. You can follow live updates here.

 

18:12 (IST): New Zealand (152/4, Brendon McCullum 65; Gugten 3/20) beat Netherlands (151/4, Borren 49; Nathan McCullum 1/20) by six wickets.

 

18:04 (IST): Sweet hit! Corey Anderson takes Ahsan Malik for a 93 m six! NZ 143/4 (17.3 overs) vs NED. Need 9 off 15 to win.

 

17:59 (IST): WICKET! Anti-climax! Brendon McCullum c Bukhari b Van der Gugten 64. NZ 134/4 (16.5 overs) chasing 152.

 

17:53 (IST): Another six takes Brendon McCullum to his 13th T20I 50! NZ 116/3 (15.3 overs) chasing 152 vs NED. Need 22 runs off 27 balls to win.

 

17:49 (IST): SIX! Brendon McCullum! 100 up for New Zealand! NZ 104/3 (14.2 overs) chasing 152 vs NED.

17:35 (IST): WICKET! Ross Taylor c Wesley Barressi b Van der Gugten 18. New Zealand 88/3 (12.2 overs) chasing 152.

 

17:27 (IST): Brendon McCullum becomes the first batsman to score 2000 runs in T20Is. NZ 67/2 (10.2 overs) vs NED.

 

17:26 (IST): Golden arm Ross Taylor in the middle with Brendon McCullum now! NZ 61/2 (9.2 overs).

 

17:19 (IST): WICKET! Kane Williamson c Wesley Barressi b Logan Van Beek 29. NZ 56/2 (8.3 overs).

17:18 (IST): Kane Williamson has raced to 27* off just 20 balls. NZ 55/1 (8 overs) chasing 152 vs NED. Brendon McCullum (15* off 12 balls).

 

17:12 (IST): Brendon McCullum (11*) ends powerplay with a 4, goes into double figures! NZ 42/1 (6 overs). Kane Williamson (21* off 14 balls).

16:55 (IST): WICKET! Martin Guptill c Wesley Barressi b Van Gugten 9. NZ 14/1 (3.2 overs).

16:54 (IST): Kane Williamson (4*) gets off the mark with a boundary! NZ 14/0 (2 overs) chasing 152.

 

16:51 (IST): Kane Williamson (0*) has faced just two deliveries in 2 overs bowled so far by Netherlands. NZ 9/0 (2 overs). Martin Guptill (8* off 10 balls) looks good on the other end.

 

16:25 (IST): Netherlands post 151/4 (20 overs) vs New Zealand. Peter Borren (49), Tom Cooper (40*); Nathan McCullum (1/20).

 

16:15 (IST): WICKET! Peter Borren c Kane Williamson b Kyle Mills 49. NED 141/4 (18 overs).

 

16:14 (IST): Tom Cooper (32*) sends Kyle Mills for a huge six! NED 140/3 (17.4 overs).

16:10 (IST): Tom Cooper (20* off 11 balls) comes to the party now as well! A 4 and a six off Mitchell McClenaghan! NED 121/3 (15.5 overs).

 

16:05 (IST): Tom Cooper is content with giving the strike to captain Peter Borren (42*) as of now. NED 110/3 (15.2 overs).

 

15:51 (IST): WICKET! Michael Swart st Ronchi b Nathan McCullum 26. Netherlands 81/3 (12.1 overs).

15:50 (IST): Corey Anderson was hit for a 4 on the 1st ball of his 2nd over and it was followed by poor fielding from Kyle Mills. He dropped Borren's catch and let it go for 4! NED 79/2 (8.3 overs).

 

15:36 (IST): WICKET! Wesley Barressi c Ronchi b McClenaghan 4. Netherlands 42/2 (7.4 overs). The Netherlands might have lost two wickets but they are still maintaining a decent run rate.

 

15:27 (IST): WICKET! The dangerman has to go! Stephan Myburgh c Martin Guptill b Trent Boult 16. Netherlands 34/1 (5.5 overs).

 

15:26 (IST): Myburgh gets a six off Corey Anderson! He wasted five balls before breaking the shackles on the final ball but made up for it nonetheless. NED 29/0 (5 overs).

 

15:19 (IST): Myburgh is not letting any loose delivery go waste. He is batting on 10 from 16 balls though. Got a boundary, a double and a single in Boult's last over. NED 22/0 (4 overs).

 

15:08 (IST): Kyle Mills to Stephan Myburgh! 4! 3rd ball! Myburgh wants to make another statement today in this tournament. NED 4/0 (0.4 overs) vs NZ.

 

Playing XIs

Netherlands

Stephan Myburgh, Michael Swart, Wesley Barresi, Tom Cooper, Peter Borren, Ben Cooper, Logan van Beek, Mudassar Bukhari, T van der Gugten, PM Seelaar, Ahsan Malik

New Zealand

Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson, Brendon McCullum, Ross Taylor, Corey Anderson, Jimmy Neesham, Luke Ronchi, Nathan McCullum, Trent Boult, Kyle Mills, Mitchell McClenaghan

 

14:34 (IST): New Zealand win the toss and elect to bowl first vs Netherlands at Chittagong. Tim Southee and Colin Munro are out, Trent Boult and Jimmy Neesham replace them. Skipper Brendon McCullum reckons that the pitch has a bit in it and the Netherlands' bowlers could thrive on it if they had the chance to bowl first. Netherlands skipper Peter Borren said he wanted to bowl first too but is looking forward to put up a big total and then defend it.

 

The contest between New Zealand and The Netherlands at Chittagong may be a one-sided affair according to most. After all, Kiwis have played attacking cricket and have shown determined intent. The team beat England in the opener - by 9 runs (D/L method) and almost downed South Africa before Dale Steyn's fiery final over took the match away. Not known to remain demoralised, Kiwis would be hoping for a massive win on Saturday.

 

The Super-10 story for the Dutch isn't a fairytale by any stretch of the imagination. The big teams of international cricket have come and walked away with rather easy wins, leaving the Dutch with nothing more than valuable experience of competing. The team first lost to Sri Lanka by 9 runs in a match in which they scored the lowest T20I total ever. The came back stronger against South Africa but lost the match by 6 runs. The positives from that match though were many - a five-wicket haul from Ahsan Jammil, fifty from opener Stephan Myburgh. These positives can help them give Kiwis some jittery moments when the two teams face off.