De Leede leads Netherlands to thumping win

NEW DELHI, Feb 10 (Agencies): Bas de Leede scored an unbeaten 72 and took two wickets as the Netherlands hammered Namibia by seven wickets for their first win at the T20 World Cup on Tuesday.
The experienced all-rounder struck key blows with his pace bowling to help restrict Namibia to 156-8 at Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium.
De Leede then turned up with the bat to hit five fours and four sixes in his 48-ball knock to help the Netherlands chase down their target with 12 balls to spare.
His third-wicket partnership of 70 with Colin Ackermann, who scored 32, set up the chase before he polished it off with skipper Scott Edwards (18 not out).
It was the Netherlands' biggest win by wickets at a T20 World Cup.
"I think we were lucky to bowl first, it gave us a good look at the wicket and I thought we adjusted really well as a bowling group," said player of the match De Leede.
"Later in the game, I felt the pitch started skidding on a bit - so credit to the batters for adapting to that as well."
Edwards called De Leede's all-round effort "sensational" as the Dutch bounced back from their narrow loss to Pakistan in their opener in Group A.
Captain Scott Edwards chose to field and rotated eight bowlers, but Namibia still mustered a competitive 156-8 after a stuttering start.
Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton (42) anchored, with Jan Frylinck (30) and JJ Smit (22) adding useful runs. Skipper Gerhard Erasmus (18) hit two fours and a six before falling as he looked to launch a counterattack. Max O'Dowd fell cheaply after the Dutch side began their chase and Michael Levitt (28) could not convert his start either, but a let-off for Colin Ackermann proved costly for Namibia. Ackermann went on to make 32 in his match-defining 70-run stand with de Leede to put the Netherlands on course to victory.
Namibia will face a sterner test when they face defending champions India at the same venue on Thursday.