New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum smashed 65 to guide his side to a six—wicket win over Netherlands in the World Twenty20 on Saturday.
Riding on McCullum’s attacking knock, New Zealand had an over to spare, scoring 152—4 in response to Netherlands 151—4.
McCullum, who hit four fours and three sixes off 45 balls, became the first cricketer to score 2,000 runs in Twenty20 internationals when he was on 21. He intended a reverse scoop but Logan Van Beek’s ball swung to force McCullum to nudge into cover for a single.
McCullum settled New Zealand’s innings after Timm Van der Gugten had taken Martin Guptill cheaply. Kane Williamson chipped in with 29 while Corey Anderson was 20 not out. Ross Taylor made 18.
For Netherlands, Van der Gugten claimed 3—30 while Van Beek had 1—14.
Earlier Netherlands captain Peter Borren struck 49 to lead his side from the front. Tom Cooper was not out 40 while Michael Swart made 26.
Cooper and Borren added 60 to give their bowlers a chance for an upset victory.
Kyle Mills, Trent Boult, Nathan McCullum and Mitchell McClenaghan claimed one wicket apiece.
McCullum won the toss and decided to bowl first.
Scoreboard:
Netherlands
S Myburgh c Guptill b Boult 16
M Swart st Ronchi b NL McCullum 26
W Barresi c Ronchi b McClenaghan 4
P Borren c Williamson b Mills 49
T Cooper not out 40
B Cooper not out 1
Extras (B—8, LB—4, W—2, NB—1) 15
Total (for four wickets in 20 overs) 151
Fall of wickets: 1—34, 2—42, 3—81, 4—141
Bowling: K Mills 3—0—20—1; T Boult 4—0—25—1; C Anderson 2—0—19—0; N McCullum 4—0—20—1; M McClenaghan 4—0—29—1; K Williamson 1—0—17—0; J Neesham 2—0—9—0.
New Zealand
Martin Guptill c Barresi b van Gugten 9
Kane Williamson c Barresi b van Beek 29
Brendon McCullum c Bukhari b van Gugten 65
Ross Taylor c Barresi b van Gugten 18
Corey Anderson not out 20
Jimmy Neesham not out 7
Extras: (lb—2 w—2) 4
Total: (4 wickets in 19 overs) 152
Fall of wickets: 1/14 2/56 3/88 4/134
Bowling: Swart 1—0—6—0, van Gugten 4—0—30—3, Bukhari 4—0—31—0, Jamil 4—0—43—0, Borren 2—0—10—0, Seelaar 2—0—16—0, van Beek 2—0—14—1.
Teams:
New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson, Brendon McCullum, Ross Taylor, Jimmy Neesham, Corey Anderson, Luke Ronchi, Nathan McCullum, Trent Boult, Kyle Mills, Mitchell McClenaghan.
Netherlands: Stephan Myburgh, Michael Swart, Wesley Barresi, Tom Cooper, Ben Cooper, Peter Borren, Logan van Beek, Mudassar Bukhari, Timm van der Gugten, Pieter Seelaar, Ahsan Jamil.
