Netherlands 134 for 3 (Cooper 41, ten Doeschate 34*, Ackermann 29*) beat Papua New Guinea 128 for 8 (Siaka 39, Bau 29, Kila 27*, Glover 3-24) by seven wickets
The upstart Papua New Guinea juggernaut finally ran out of steam on Saturday night at Dubai International Stadium as the defending co-champions Netherlands ran roughshod over the Barramundis batting order with a wondrous bowling performance to set up a seven-wicket win, repeating as champions of the T20 World Cup Qualifier in what may be the final edition of the tournament. Roelof van der Merwe‘s twin strikes early in the contest were backed up by Brandon Glover‘s searing spell, which brought a sluggish wicket to life as he claimed three wickets.
While there was plenty contributed by the next generation of Dutch stars like Glover, the old guard gave a vintage performance as well to remind everyone of their contributions past and present. After Ben Cooper set the table with 41 off 33 balls to start the chase, Ryan ten Doeschate flicked a trio of sixes, including the match-clincher to take Netherlands across the line with an unbeaten 34 off 23 balls.
More to follow…