ODI World Cup digest: Dutch delight; Pakistan team hit by virus

The Men’s 2023 ODI World Cup is underway in India and runs from October 5 until November 19. Each morning we will round up the latest action and news from the event and bring you the insights from our reporters on the ground.

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Top Story: Edwards, van der Merwe help Netherlands script famous win against South Africa

Netherlands 245 for 8 (Edwards 78*, van der Merwe 29, Jansen 2-27) beat South Africa 207 (Miller 43, van Beek 3-60, van der Merwe 2-34, de Leede 2-36, van Meekeren 2-40) by 38 runs 43 overs a side

Scott Edwards’ rousing unbeaten half-century gave his bowlers belief and they shot for the stars, demolishing South Africa’s storied batting line-up to hand Netherlands a historic World Cup victory.

South Africa, having won both their games at the tournament prior to this by more than 100 runs, after posting totals of 428 and 311, had insisted in the lead-up that they had moved on from a group-stage defeat to Netherlands which ended their T20 World Cup campaign last year. Netherlands, meanwhile, had shown fleeting glances of what they might be capable of here with heavy yet spirited defeats to Pakistan and New Zealand. This match followed the script, until Edwards and Roelof van der Merwe – who shone with bat and ball – ripped it up to secure a 38-run win, Netherlands’ first against South Africa in ODIs.

Match analysis: Edwards leads from front as Netherlands nail their big moment

It was Scott Edwards who took them to “believing” and facilitated “knowing” from a hopeless place. South Africa won the toss, opted to bowl first, and were coasting to victory as early as the 21st over when Netherlands’ captain arrived at the crease with the scoreboard reading 82 for 5. He finished unbeaten on 78, lifting his charges to a score of 245 for 8 with vital assistance from Roelof van der Merwe and Aryan Dutt. He then nailed every tactical call behind the stumps to cap off a remarkable night in Dharamsala.

Edwards’ team-mates will tell you he leads from the front. “One of those guys you just want to follow,” is how van Beek put it earlier this month. Maybe it should not be a surprise someone who flirted with an electrical apprenticeship is a handy conductor.

Must Watch: How do South Africa move on from this loss?

News headlines

The Pakistan cricket team has been struck by a viral infection in their World Cup camp in India, with several players affected by flu and high fever. Most are understood to be on the mend, but several did not attend Tuesday’s optional training session. Abdullah Shafique is currently in quarantine in his room with flu and fever, while Shaheen Shah Afridi, Saud Shakeel and Zaman Khan have also been affected.

Match preview

Afghanistan vs New Zealand, Chennai (2pm IST; 8.30am GMT; 7.30pm AEST)

The 2019 World Cup champions have been taken down. Time for the runners-up next?

Afghanistan players have time and again called India their second home. At various points, they have had their base set up at Indian venues like Dehradun, Lucknow and Greater Noida, where they played their “home games”. IPL regulars Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi have always been a crowd favourite, while Naveen-ul-Haq keeps the buzz going.

Which is why there was genuine excitement among the Delhi crowd when Afghanistan served defending champions England a 69-run thrashing on Sunday. It was only Afghanistan’s second-ever win in an ODI World Cup game in 18 attempts and their first since 2015.

Team news

Afghanistan (probable): 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz, 2 Ibrahim Zadran, 3 Rahmat Shah, 4 Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), 5 Azmatullah Omarzai, 6 Mohammad Nabi, 7 Ikram Alikhil (wk), 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Mujeeb Ur Rahman, 10 Naveen-ul-Haq, 11 Fazalhaq Farooqi

New Zealand (probable): 1 Devon Conway, 2 Will Young, 3 Rachin Ravindra, 4 Tom Latham (capt, wk), 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Glenn Phillips, 7 Mark Chapman, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Mark Henry, 10 Lockie Ferguson, 11 Trent Boult

Analysis: Rohit Sharma’s bold new batting template has changed his ODI game – and India’s

Nobody mourns the reduction in the amount of ODI cricket between the last World Cup and this one. You can’t blame them. Still, it is a shame that because so little 50-over cricket is played, and even less by the best players, we might sometimes fail to notice transformative pieces of work. Rohit Sharma’s transformation since he became the full-time India ODI captain might just be one of those.

In a World Cup, though, everyone notices. After the duck in the first match in difficult conditions against Australia, Rohit has practically ended two matches inside the first powerplay. He scored 76 off 43 in the first ten overs against Afghanistan, and 45 off 30 against Pakistan. As with everything he does, this was not random. Not a case of feeling good about it on the day and swinging for the hills.

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