Twitter Reactions: New Zealand edge past spirited Netherlands to win by 16 runs in 1st T20I

New Zealand will be up against the hosts once again in less than 24 hours for the series finale.

New Zealand got over the line in a close encounter against the Netherlands in the first T20I at The Hague on August 04, Thursday. James Neesham and Ish Sodhi’s cameos with the bat coupled with Blair Tickner and Ben Sears’ heroics with the ball sealed a 16-run victory for the Kiwis against the hosts.

Blair Tickner ( 4/27) wrecked the Netherlands’ top order by dismissing their top three batters inside four overs. His early carnage seemed to end the hosts’ chase of 149, but Bas de Leede kept the hosts in the game with his well-paced 66 off 53 deliveries. Unfortunately, the half-centurion could not get them over the line as there was very little support from the other end as only two other Dutch batters reached the double digits apart from him.

Tickner, who wrecked the hosts’ batting innings earlier, was complemented well by the young Ben Sears (3/22). Sears was economical in the death overs and did not offer the opposition batters much in a tense finale. Lockie Ferguson finished wicketless but was superb at the death as he choked the Dutch batters in their pursuit of the target.

James Neesham and Ish Sodhi propelled the Kiwis to a competitive total with late cameos

Earlier, The Blackcaps batted first after skipper Mitchell Santner called it right at the toss. They lost the young opener, Finn Allen, early in the innings, and wickets kept tumbling, while the seasoned pro-Martin Guptill kept the scoreboard ticking with his sedate 45 off 36 deliveries. The pitch played slower than expected, and the Kiwi batters struggled for fluency with the innings languishing at 95/5 at the end of the 15th over.

The visitors were on course for an underwhelming total on the board but Kiwi all-rounder James Neesham, who has played some blistering cameos in the past, rejuvenated the batting innings with two fours and two maximums in his 17-ball stay at the crease, which yielded 32 runs. Ish Sodhi took a leaf out of his compatriot’s book and finished the innings on a high with his brisk 19 off 10 deliveries as New Zealand finished with a par score of 148/7, which looked unlikely after 15 overs in their innings.

Shariz Ahmad and Logan van Beek were the pick of the Dutch bowlers with two scalps each, while Clayton Floyd, Ryan Klein, and Tim Pringle chipped in with a wicket each to their names.