Captain Edwards, Nidamanuru help Netherlands secure first points

Scott Edwards navigated his side out of choppy waters in a tricky chase, arriving at 83 for 4 in pursuit of a target of 212 to strike an unbeaten half-century as Netherlands eventually eased across the line by five wickets in Harare. Edwards finished with 67 not out off 60 balls, clinching victory with a trademark sweep to record Netherlands' first win of the World Cup Qualifier with 40 balls to spare. Meanwhile, Takashinga Sports Club remains a house of horrors for USA, who have lost all three of their matches at the venue.

USA lost another crucial toss and were sent in for the second match in a row as the Netherlands seamers exploited early moisture to put the batters in a big hole at 20 for 3 inside six overs. Sushant Modani fell for a third-ball duck edging Ryan Klein to first slip before Steven Taylor was bowled by a Logan van Beek inswinger that came back late to knock back off stump. After sucking Saiteja Mukkamalla into a drive on the previous ball for two, Klein got a pitched up delivery to sneak through the bat-pad gap on another attempted drive and bowl him for 10.

The score was even worse with USA again missing captain Monank Patel due to illness and his stand-in Aaron Jones failing for the third match in a row, chopping on a Bas de Leede delivery for 8. Gajanand Singh got his third solid start of the tournament, but was unable to convert it beyond 33. The decision by Edwards to toss the ball to Vikramjit Singh for a spell of part-time medium pace worked as a leg side delivery was gloved to Edwards. Nisarg Patel could manage only 1 before an ill-fated slog against the turn from left-arm spinner Clayton Floyd swirled over mid-off for an easy catch to make it 88 for 6 in the 27th.

Shayan Jahangir top-scored for the second match in a row, leading USA's revival with 71 off 86 balls and he forged an 86-run seventh-wicket partnership with Jessy Singh. But Jessy fell in the 43rd to end the stand, driving a sharp low return catch to offspinner Aryan Dutt for 38. Jahangir picked out deep midwicket a few overs later, and USA never regained any momentum. Across the final eight overs of the innings, Netherlands conceded just 39 runs and only two boundaries as Dutt and the fast bowlers kept USA in check.

Defending 211, the USA quicks then produced an inspired display led by Ali Khan with the new ball on his return from a two-match suspension. He produced an athletic one-handed return catch to claim Vikramjit for 8 before pulling a piece of cloth tape out of his pocket and placing it over his mouth in celebration, a reference to the verbal jousting in a match against Jersey back in April that triggered his ban for the first two matches in the qualifier.

Jessy replaced Ali in the attack after four overs and claimed two wickets with a gritty spell of medium pace. He trapped Max O'Dowd and Wesley Barresi with pitched up deliveries to win a pair of lbw decisions, making it 68 for 3. Saurabh Netravalkar returned for a second spell a short time later and induced a top edge from de Leede as Netherlands suddenly looked nervy.

But Ali never came back after his opening spell, off the field for the remainder of play with a stomach bug, and Edwards picked on Nisarg's left-arm spin with a series of sweeps to release the pressure. Nisarg finished with no wickets for 60 in 8.2 overs as Edwards quickly identified him as the weak link in USA's attack upon his arrival in the 25th over. USA's fielding, which has been porous throughout the tournament, was also exceptionally sloppy as the chase wore on with more than a half-dozen misfields along the ground that further dissipated any anxiety between Edwards and his partners.

Teja Nidamanuru lofted Taylor's offspin back over his head for a boundary to bring up a half-century but fell for 58 trying to sweep Nosthush Kenjige, ending a 72-run partnership. However, that was the last hiccup Netherlands would experience as van Beek provided adequate support for his captain with 12 not out while Edwards' sweeping remained flawless until he dispatched Nisarg for the winning runs.