Windies sink to new low

HARARE, Zimbabwe – Teja Nidamanuru defied Nicholas Pooran’s 100 with a scintillating one of his own while Man-of-the-Match Logan van Beek produced a fearless all-round effort, as Netherlands stunned West Indies in a dramatic Super-Over to leave the Caribbean side’s World Cup hopes hanging by a string here Monday.

Tasked with overhauling 375 after the left-handed Pooran lashed a pulsating 65-ball unbeaten 104, the Netherlands staged a remarkable chase, the 28-year-old Nidamanuru top-scoring with 111 off 76 deliveries with 11 fours and three sixes, to leave the scores tied in the Group A contest at Takashinga Sports Club.

Van Beek – whose grandfather Simpson “Sammy” Guillen was born in Trinidad and played five Tests for West Indies during the 1950s, and later for New Zealand – then annihilated Jason Holder in the Super-Over, plundering 30 runs courtesy of three sixes and three fours.

The 32-year-old then returned to bowl the Dutch side’s Super-Over, limiting West Indies to eight runs from the first three balls before removing Johnson Charles and Romario Shepherd in successive deliveries, to spark celebrations at the northeastern Zimbabwe venue.

“I can’t really explain it. We wanted to do something special, and just to watch Scotty (Scott Edwards) and Teja out there, the more they batted the more we believed,” van Beek said afterwards.

Captain Edwards chipped in with 67 off 47 deliveries in a stand of 143 for the fifth wicket with Nidamanuru, while openers Vikramjit Singh (37) and Max O’Dowd (36) played important knocks at the top of the order in a 76-run partnership.At the start of the penultimate over, the Netherlands required 30 runs, but van Beek (28) tore into off-spinner Roston Chase (3-77) to gather 21 runs and turn the game in his side’s favour.

When van Beek clobbered the first ball of the final over from speedster Alzarri Joseph to the cover boundary, the Dutch seemed set to complete the second-highest-ever run chase in ODIs, but Aryan Dutt (16) holed out to mid-off off the third ball and van Beek was taken at short mid-wicket by Holder off the final delivery, with a single run needed for victory.

“I don’t think I’m probably going to play in a better game of individual cricket than that,” said Edwards.

“(The target) was obviously 60 more runs than we’ve ever hit, but the belief we have in this group, the way we’ve been playing our cricket, we knew we had to bat well.”

The result was a massive blow for West Indies, following on from their defeat to Zimbabwe last weekend, leaving them to begin the Super Six stage without a single point, and now needing to win all three games in order to stand any chance of reaching the showpiece in India later this year.

“We just let ourselves down there, definitely in the bowling department,” said a dejected West Indies captain Shai Hope. “I can’t see us getting 375 and losing a game.

“Honestly, I thought it was enough. I know that cricket isn’t played in one half, you have to bowl well when you come out to the field, but I always thought that 375 would have been enough.”

Sent in, West Indies looked a safe bet when they piled up 374 for six off their 50 overs, with Brandon King lashing 76 off 81 balls and fellow opener Johnson Charles chipping in with 54 from 55 deliveries. Hope shone with 47 from 38 balls, while Keemo Paul arrived at number nine to blast a 25-ball unbeaten 46, West Indies gathering 118 from the last 10 overs.

King punched 13 fours in his sixth ODI half-century and Charles nine fours and a six in his seventh, the pair posting 61 in the first power-play and 101 for the first wicket. Three partnerships then carried West Indies to their third-highest total in ODIs and highest in four years. When Charles was lbw to seamer Vivian Kingma in the 18th over, King put on 59 for the second wicket with Shamarh Brooks (25) before both perished with three runs added in the space of eight balls.

Pooran then took command with his third ODI 100, lashing nine fours and half-dozen sixes as he put on 108 for the fourth wicket with Hope and 79 in an unbroken seventh-wicket partnership with Paul.

Pooran reached his 50 off 38 balls in the 40th over by clearing the ropes at long on with Kingma before completing triple figures off just 63 balls in the penultimate over with a boundary to extra cover off van Beek.

The Netherlands reply was a measured one, Vikramjit Singh and O’Dowd laying the platform before Nidamanuru turned the game on his head with a whirlwind knock.

Coming to the crease in the 22nd over with his side on 128 for three, he added 40 for the fourth wicket with Bas de Leede (33) before anchoring the pivotal stand with Edwards, who belted half a dozen fours and a six.

When Nidamanuru perished as three wickets tumbled for 14 runs to leave the Dutch tottering on 327 for seven at the end of the 46th over, West Indies had seized the initiative. But a 44-run, eighth-wicket stand between van Beek and Dutt caused the pendulum to swing again.