Deventer: Riding on an unbeaten half-century from opener Max O'Dowd and a collective batting and bowling effort, powered Netherlands to a comfortable seven-wicket win over Zimbabwe in the opening game of the two-match ODI series in Deventer.
In a match that was reduced to 47 overs a side, Netherlands' new-ball duo of Fred Klaassen and Vivian Kingma ripped through the Zimbabwe top order, sending back the top three inside the first Powerplay.
From there, it was always an uphill task for Zimbabwe to recover. They did, partially, thanks to Brendan Taylor's 71 at No.4, but the loss of frequent wickets at the other end meant Taylor couldn't string together a substantial partnership as Netherlands stayed on top of the opposition.
When Taylor eventually fell, Netherlands were 159/7. They were able to go past 200 was down to their lower-order duo of Donald Tiripano and Kyle Jarvis who chipped in with contributions of 21 and 32* respectively helped Zimbabwe put up a defending total of 205// in 47overs.Klasssen led Netherlands' bowling efforts with 2-29 in ten overs, while Pieter Seelaar, the left-arm spinner, snared 2-32 in his quota of overs.
Netherlands' top three batsmen made solid contributions and powered them to 110/1 to lay a firm foundation for the chase. Tobias Visee and Ben Cooper fell before they could convert their starts into a big score, but O'Dowd saw the team through with an unbeaten 87, and a 90-run fourth-wicket stand with Wesley Barresi, who remained not out on 39. Netherlands chased down Zimbabwe's 205/8 (47) in just 42 overs with 7 wickets to spare.
Zimbabwe will now look to settle scores when they face Netherlands in the second and final ODI at the same venue on Friday, Jun 21.(UNI)