Netherlands Thrash Namibia by 59 Runs in Nepal Tri-Nation Series
Opener Michael Levitt smashed a blistering record century by a Dutch batter as the Netherlands thrashed Namibia by 59 runs in the third match of the Nepal Tri-Nation T20I Series here on Thursday.
Levitt, playing only his second T20 international, anchored the Dutch innings with a dominant 135 runs off just 62 balls. Notably, he scored a brilliant half-centuries in his debut match for the Netherlands.
The right-hander, who is an attacking batter by nature, peppered the boundaries with 10 towering sixes and 11 fours all-around the ground. He was dismissed on the second ball of 18th over.
Batting first after winning the toss, the Netherlands piled up a mammoth 247 runs for the loss of five wickets. Levitt found able support from Sybrand Engelbrecht, who scored a quickfire 75 runs off 40 balls.
Tija Nidamanuru, despite a cameo of 18 runs off just three balls, fell victim to a run-out in the last over but by that time a great deal of damage had already been done with the bat.
Ruben Trumplemann was the pick of the Namibian bowlers, claiming two wickets. Ben Shikongo and Jay Frylinck chipped in with a wicket apiece but the latter went for 57 runs in his 4 overs.
READ MORE: CWC: Aryan Dutt Claims Best ODI Figures for the Netherlands
Chasing a daunting target of 248 runs, Namibia’s batting faltered as they were bundled out for 188 runs. Jan Frylinck and Zane Green top-scored with 42 runs each, while JP Kotze contributed 26 runs.
JJ Smit, Ruben Trumplemann, and Jan Nicol Lotie-Eaton also reached double digits but failed to convert their starts into substantial scores because the required run-rate was getting out of hands.
Timm van der Gugten picked up two wickets for the Netherlands, while Vivian Kingma, Fred Klaassen, Aryan Dutt, Sybrand Engelbrecht, and Roelof van der Merwe shared the remaining spoils with a wicket each.
With this victory, the Netherlands register their second consecutive win in the tri-series. Namibia will next face Nepal in the fourth match, scheduled for later on Thursday.
