Holland beats UAE in T20 opener

The Netherlands beat the UAE by three wickets to have just one ball left in the opening match of the T20 World Cup.

Melbourne-bred captain Scott Edwards responded to the UAE’s 8-112 from 20 overs to score the win as the Netherlands reached 7-112.

Edwards scored an important 16 nos off 19 balls to see Holland home after a second-half stumbling block, while his counterpart CP Rizwan suffered a horrific drop catch.

Junaid Siddik took two wickets in 14 overs to lead the Netherlands 6-76.

Tim Pringle had yet to score in the same over when he slid the easiest chance to Rizwan at mid-off.

Pringle then made 15 in 27 important 7-wicket stands with Edwards.

Zaheer Farid bowled Pringle in the second and final over, but Logan van Beek teamed with Edwards to steer the Dutch home.

Rizwan said after the match: “It’s really heartbreaking. We put our heart and soul into it and we could have taken the chance. I had to say that. I was able to grab the .”

“It would have made a difference.”

The Dutchman was cruising 2-59 in nine overs, but steadily lost wicket and did not reach the boundary after eight overs.

The United Arab Emirates eventually helped them out by making consistently bleeding runs and a few defensive mistakes that were spotted by Rizwan’s dropped catches.

“I was always a little nervous towards the end, but it was a relief to cross the line,” Edwards said.

“I’m still having a hard time processing it… Starting the tournament with a win is the most important thing.”

Dutch opener Max O’Dowd top-scored with 23 as Junaid closed in on the winner 3-24 from four overs.

The UAE won the toss and opener Muhammad Waseem set the pace for the innings, reaching 2-91 at the end of 16 overs.

However, Muhammadha struggled with Fred Klaasen and Tim Pringle took a long and well-judged catch, sending him off on 41 of 47 pitches.

From there, the UAE’s innings fell apart, as they lost their final six wickets for just 20 as Bas de Leede took 3 wickets in 19 overs.

With one ball left, Aryan Khan was dismissed for five, tripping over the boundary ropes on his way back to the dressing room, totaling the UAE’s innings.

This is the UAE’s second T20 World Cup since their debut in 2014, and they have gone winless after four matches in two tournaments.