De Leede powers Netherlands to 7-wicket win over Namibia: T20 World Cup

Netherlands' Bas de Leede celebrates after scoring fifty runs during the T20 World Cup cricket match between Namibia and Netherlands (AP Photo)

Bas de Leede’s relationship with Delhi has been complicated, if not cruel. The last time he walked out at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, the scoreboard was left rattled, and the record books were rewritten for all the wrong reasons. In October 2023, he had been at the receiving end as Glenn Maxwell unfurled the fastest ODI World Cup hundred, a 44-ball assault that left the Dutch allrounder with figures of 2/115 in his 10 overs, a spell that topped the charts for most runs conceded in ODI cricket.

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This was a day De Leede would rather forget. Cricket, though, has a way of circling back. On Tuesday, the same venue offered De Leede a chance to author a very different memory, and he seized it with quiet authority. De Leede produced a performance that neatly stitched together control, composure and conviction as the Netherlands outclassed Namibia by seven wickets in their Group A clash of the T20 World Cup here at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. It was a win completed with two overs to spare, but one that was built patiently, methodically, and with an eye on moments rather than momentum alone. De Leede’s fingerprints were all over the contest. With the ball, he struck at precisely the moments Namibia threatened to lift the tempo. His three-over spell cost just 20 runs and brought two key wickets of Namibian skipper Gerhard Erasmus and power-hitter JJ Smit. The Dutch allrounder capped his impact by effecting the run-out of Ruben Trumpelmann, a feisty lower-order ball striker. Namibia kept searching for acceleration, but wickets kept falling with inconvenient regularity, blunting any late flourish. Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton’s 42 off 38 and Jan Frylinck’s 30 from 26 balls offered brief resistance, but neither could deliver the late surge Namibia needed. The Dutch bowlers, particularly the spinners, squeezed the Namibian innings in the middle overs. Aryan Dutt’s off-spin (1/13 in three overs) and Logan van Beek’s incisive opening burst (2/13 in three) set the tone for the Dutch. A Powerplay yielding just 40 runs told its own story. If Namibia’s innings never quite took off, the Netherlands chase barely wobbled. Max O’Dowd’s early exit did little to disturb the calm. Stockily built opener Michael Levitt ensured the Powerplay belonged to the Dutch with a brisk 28 off 15 balls, pushing them to 50/2 after six overs and ahead of the rate from the outset. Then came De Leede the batter, walking in at No.3 and anchoring the chase with an unbeaten 72 off 48 balls. His 70-run partnership with Colin Ackermann, stitched in 51 deliveries, quietly tilted the contest beyond Namibia’s reach. There was range in De Leede’s stroke play, restraint when needed, and timely power — five fours and four sixes — when the moment demanded assertion. Once Dutch skipper Scott Edwards joined him and the equation read 41 required off six overs, the ending felt inevitable. Four overs later, it was done. When asked about that bruising afternoon in 2023, De Leede dismissed any lingering memories. “I am pretty forgetful in such matters, and it wasn’t at the back of my mind. I am not much fussed about it,” he said after the match, with a smile on his face.

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