It could be a mere coincidence but The Netherlands have been following a strange pattern in the ongoing ODI World Cup. Two defeats followed by a win and then move to Lucknow. Their previous trip to the City of Nawabs didn’t yield the desired results as the Lankan lions left their paw marks at the Ekana Stadium. But as the Dutch unit is back at the venue after knocking Bangladesh out of the tournament, they are willing to give another shot to their dream of making it to the semi-finals.
Up against them are the daring Afghans who have a similar story. After a couple of losses – to Bangladesh and India – they bounced back by mowing down England. The defeat at the hands of the Black Caps was a little hiccup but they scripted history against Pakistan and there wasn’t look back since then.
And now the teams who stole the show by causing major upsets are set to light up Lucknow in what will be the last game at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium.
ICC World Cup: Schedule | Results | Points Table | Most Runs | Most Wickets
As per the points tally, Afghanistan are a little ahead of the Netherlands – by a margin of two points. But the Dutch, as usual, are happy-go-lucky, with no unnecessary pressure, just focusing on how to counter the Afghans in Lucknow.
Collin Ackerman, the Netherlands, spoke to the media on the eve of the match and said the team feels lucky to have played a game at this venue. But the prime focus is on winning the game.
“The plan is to win tomorrow. Obviously got some momentum from our previous game against Bangladesh. I think we’re pretty lucky that we’ve played here before at this venue. I don’t think Afghanistan have played here before. So, we’re sort of familiar to the conditions from our game [against] Sri Lanka. So hope that will give us a few positives leading into tomorrow,” Ackerman told media.
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Dutch not worried about Afghan Spinners
Afghanistan is known for their spin-heavy attack. In the spotlight are star Rashid Khan, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman and Noor Ahmad. And if Mohammad Nabi, on a given day chips in, all four combined can wreak havoc on a track which consists of a mixture of black and red soil (pitch no. 5, as sources confirmed to Cricketnext). But as Ackerman said, The Netherlands aren’t too bothered about that.
“Yeah, they’ve obviously got three very good spinners that have been successful in T20 cricket. The 50 over format is different. You don’t have to go after the spinners from, from ball one. So it gives us an opportunity to have a look at them to see how the conditions are playing out there,” Ackerman replied to a News18 Cricketnext query.
“I think the teams that have done well against them have kind of taken the game deep and not given them any wickets in the middle overs. But in saying that they’ve also got two or three very good seamers that are dangerous. So it’s about getting through the power play first and then combating the spin in the middle overs,” he added.
Focus on semi-finals
The qualification scenario for the 2025 Champions Trophy took almost every team, who are placed 8th, 9th, and 10th, took by surprise. The same was true with the Dutchmen when they got to know about it last Sunday. But what’s going to happen in a couple of years isn’t a concern for the Dutch, but making it to the semi-finals is.
“We didn’t know about it before the tournament. I don’t think any teams knew about it before we started. But we are here at a World Cup, we’re not playing the Champions Trophy. We first need to compete at this tournament before we look at the Champions Trophy,” Ackerman said.
“The focus is a semifinal for us. We know that if we win our next three games, we’ll make the semifinal. That is our focus at this stage. We’re not interested in what’s happening in two years’ time. We’ve got a game to win tomorrow,” he added.
All focus in defeating Afghanistan
With three games and a little hope left, the Dutch have planned to deal with one challenge at a time and not to think too far, given that their next opponents are England and India.
Replying to a Cricktenext query, Ackerman said, “Every game is a must-win for us now. We are well aware of that. We can’t look too far ahead into the England and India game yet. So, all our focus is and preparation is to win in this game first and foremost before we approach any other game this tournament.”
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