The Netherlands comfortably closed out an eight-wicket win over hosts Oman to top the table at the Muscat T20I Quadrangular with one match to go, whilst Ireland's T20 troubles returned as the sank to a six-wicket defeat at the hands of Scotland.
Dutch go top in Oman as Irish woes return
After a reassuring 15-run win over Oman in their series opener on Wednesday, Ireland again started positively after being put into bat by Scottish captain Kyle Coetzer in today's second match. A record 115-run opening stand from new Irish opening pair Paul Stirling and Kevin O'Brien was squandered, however, as the clatter of wickets saw the start squandered by the middle order, and Kyle Coetzer and George Munsey's own blistering century partnership for the first wicket set the platform for a straightforward Scottish victory.
Mark Watt's left arm spin would turn the game in Scotland's favour as he came back from a costly first over to take three consecutive wickets, first inducing a mistimed drive from O'Brien who was held by Michael Leask sliding in from long off for 65, then dismissing Andrew Balbirnie via a top-edged sweep, and finally doing for Stirling as the Irish skipper's uppish drive gave Leask his third catch.
Safyaan Sharif kept the collapse going the following over, taking Lorcan Tucker's off stump and then running out Simi Singh next ball. Some late hitting from the lower order undid some of the damage, Shane Getkate, George Dockrell and Josh Little providing a sting in the tail, Ireland eventually finishing on 180-7.
But if the Irish imagined that to be somewhere close to par at the break, Kyle Coetzer and George Munsey rapidly disabused them of that notion. Munsey hit Singh for 13 runs in the first over and the pair would plunder another 96 runs at more or less the same pace, racing to a century partnership by the 9th over before Munsey finally edging Getkate behind on the drive for exactly 50.
Coetzer gamely pressed on however, riding his luck to a 38-ball 74 that saw him dropped three times and then caught off a no-ball before Rankin took the direct option and knocked over his off stump. A fightback briefly threatened as Getkate and Peter Chase struck in consecutive overs to peg the Scots back to 144-4, in the 15th but by then the asking rate was under seven an over. Calum MacLeod and Craig Wallace made light work of the remaining 36-run deficit, MacLeod finishing things off in style by driving Chase high and straight over the rope to seal Scotland's first win of the series with nine balls in hand.
Earlier, a combined effort from the Dutch top four in the morning saw Pieter Seelaar's side to a comfortable victory after the hosts staged a remarkable rally from 46-2 at the ten over mark to post 166-7. Ben Cooper, who was rested for the first match against Scotland, returned to top the scoring with an unbeaten fifty from number 3 in the chase as the Dutch rang the changes, Sikander Zulfiqar and Paul van Meekeren also coming into the side as Wesley Barresi, Max O'Dowd and Timm van der Gugten made way.
The Dutch put the squeeze on early after putting Oman in to bat, the first ten overs yielding just 46 runs and the wickets of Khawar Ali and Aamir Kaleem. From the halfway point the momentum shifted dramatically though, as Khurram Nawaz plundered 17 runs off Shane Snater's second over.
Nawaz and skipper Jatinder Singh launched into a counter-attack, suddenly scoring freely to take Oman to 121-2 by the end of the 16th, before Singh was caught off Snater for 63. Nawaz fell in the next for 34-ball 58, charging past a flatter, quicker delivery from Roelof van der Merwe which missed the bat and found the stumps.
Van der Merwe was by a distance the stand-out with the ball for the Dutch, economical even unto the death as he returned player-of-the-match worthy figures of 2-14 in 4. Together with Fred Klaassen's commendable return of 1-26 from his four on a flat deck, it was enough to ensure Oman's resurgence fell well short of par, the additional 28 runs from Naseem Kushi's belligerent 11 ball cameo only getting them as far as 166-4.
Tobias Visee was again the dominant partner in his 80-run opening stand with a curiously becalmed Stephan Myburgh, scoring at almost twice the rate of his more experienced opening partner and making liberal use of the ramp and scoop as he struck a confident 44 from 24 to kick-start the Dutch reply, though the Dutch were helped along by some remarkably sloppy fielding from the hosts, Visee offering three clear chances before finally finding the hands of Mohammad Nadeem in the deep.
Myburgh would likewise hole out off Sandeep Goud two overs later, but his would be the last wicket to fall as Cooper and Ryan ten Doeschate closed out the win with seven balls to spare.
The victory sees the Netherlands top the table two points clear of Ireland and Scotland, with a healthy net run rate advantage over the Irish, who they face in their final match on Sunday morning. The hosts will face Scotland in the afternoon, still looking for their first win to set a positive tone for their three-match one-day series against the same opposition next week.
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