"Spent lot of hours trying to improve my game": Bas de Leede after Netherlands beat Namibia in T20 World Cup

Following a narrow opening-match defeat to Pakistan, the Netherlands reignited their T20 World Cup campaign with a dominant win over Namibia. Bas de Leede was the architect of the win, emerging as the most valuable player with both bat and ball for the Netherlands. He dismantled Namibia with the ball (2/20 in 3 overs) before steering a clinical run chase with a brilliant unbeaten 72-run knock off 48 balls, including five boundaries and four sixes. He was named Player of the Match for his all-round performance.

After receiving his award during the post-match presentation, de Leede said, "I think we were lucky to bowl first. Gave us a good look at the wicket, and I thought we adjusted really well as a bowling group. And then batting-wise, later in the game, I feel like it started skidding on a bit. So, again, credit to the batters for adjusting to that," according to Cricbuzz.

Reacting on his commitment to international cricket, he said, "It's allowed me to focus, especially the last couple of months. Obviously for the T20 World Cup, I knew what was needed for that. So I spent a lot of hours trying to improve my game."

Opting to field first, the Dutch bowlers found immediate success as Aryan Dutt (1/13 in 3 overs) removed Namibia opener Louren Steenkamp early. Namibia struggled to find momentum in the powerplay, reaching just 40/1 after 6 overs. Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton (42 off 38) and Jan Frylinck (30 off 26) attempted to anchor the innings, but the Netherlands' disciplined bowling kept the run rate in check.

The middle overs belonged to Bas de Leede and Logan van Beek (2/13 in 3 overs), who shared four wickets between them. De Leede accounted for the dangerous Gerhard Erasmus and JJ Smit. Namibia eventually finished on a competitive but below-par 156/8 in 20 overs.

The Dutch chase began with intent, despite losing Max O'Dowd early to Bernard Scholtz. Michael Levitt (28 off 15) provided a quick burst before falling, leaving the Netherlands at 50/2 in the six overs.

From there, it was the Bas de Leede show. Partnering with Colin Ackermann (32 off 28), De Leede anchored the innings with poise before shifting gears. He reached his fifty in just 38 balls.

Though Ackermann fell late to Loftie-Eaton, the result was never in doubt. De Leede (72* off 48) and skipper Scott Edwards (18* off 9) wrapped up the chase with 12 balls to spare, ending the match with a stylish boundary.

After the win, Netherlands captain Scott Edwards said, "Yeah, pretty good day, I thought. I think we probably got a little bit of the better conditions there. I thought our guys bowled really well through the powerplay, and obviously taking those wickets late and restricting them to what we thought was, yeah, a little bit below-par score."

Namibia will next face India at the Arun Jaitley Stadium for their next match on February 12, while the Netherlands will travel to Chennai to face the USA on February 13. (ANI)