2nd ODI: West Indies beat Netherlands by 5 wickets, take unassailable 2-0 series lead

Brandon King. Pic/AFP

West Indies took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three match series after they beat hosts Netherlands by five wickets in the second ODI at VRA Cricket Ground, here on Thursday.

With this win, West Indies climbed to the 6th spot from 10th in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Super League table. Netherlands, on the other hand, are at the bottom with 25 points.

Earlier, Netherlands' openers got the team off to a brilliant start after they won the toss and opted to bat first. Vikramjit Singh and Max O'Dowd shared a solid 101-run stand for the opening wicket. However, Vikramjit fell short of his fifty for the second game in a row but O'Dowd got to his milestone.

West Indies soon clawed their way back into the game with three wickets in eight overs, including that of the openers. Thereafter, Scott Edwards was the only other batter to make a significant contribution but the rest of the line-up failed to get to double-digit scores.

Akeal Hossein made life difficult for the Netherlands' batters with his guile, finishing with figures of 4/39 in his four overs. The four-for takes him to the joint-top of the CWCSL bowlers' list. He shares the top spot with fellow spinner Adam Zampa of Australia and Ireland's Craig Young.

Hossein went wicketless in the first five overs of his spell but the decision to reintroduce him back into the attack did wonders. He got the big wicket of O'Dowd to put two new batters at the crease. In his very next over, he scalped Bas de Leede for an 11-ball duck.

He returned to the attack later in the game and struck once again in his first over of the new spell with a simple caught and bowled to dismiss Teja Nidamanuru. Pieter Seelaar was Hossein's fourth and final wicket, holing out in the deep in an attempt to accelerate the scoring. Hossein's tidy spell broke the back of the Netherlands' innings and restricted them to just 214.

Defending a below-par target of 215, Netherlands couldn't have asked for a better start with the ball. Bas de Leede and Logan van Beek were brilliant with the new ball and kept the lid on the scoring as well.

The hosts sent the openers packing in the Powerplay and had Windies on the ropes with half the side back in the hut for 99, including the big wicket of Nicholas Pooran.

However, Netherlands failed to keep the pressure on and let the game slip out of their grasp. Brandon King and Keacy Carty batted splendidly and put on a 118-run stand to take the visitors home with more than four overs to spare and sealed the series 2-0.

When Brandon King walked to the crease, West Indies were in a spot of bother at 60/4 with Pooran back in the hut for 10. He stitched a 39-run stand with Kyle Mayers before Shariz Ahmad struck to remove the latter as West Indies lost half their side for 99.

Despite being five down, King batted positively to keep the scoreboard ticking. He smashed a six and a four against Ahmed that turned the momentum in West Indies favour. He had Carty, who was just playing his second ODI, keeping him company.

Netherlands had two chances of a run-out in the 33rd over but failed to convert it into a wicket. King got to his fifty two overs later and then took off from that point on. He finished things off in style with a six as West Indies sealed a victory with more than four overs to spare.

Brief scores:
Netherlands 214/10 in 48.3 overs (Scott Edwards 68, Max ODowd 51; Akeal Hosein 4/39) lost to West Indies 217/5 in 45.3 overs (Brandon King 91 not out, Keacy Carty 43 not out; Bas de Leede 2/46) by 5 wickets.

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