Netherlands 315 (Borren 96, Raza 6-112) and 128 for 6 (O’Dowd 36, Maqsood 3-26) beat UAE 164 (Patil 41, Rippon 4-45) and 276 (Anwar 148, Malik 3-55) by four wickets
Scorecard
File photo: Quirijn Gunning claimed the key wickets of Shaiman Anwar and Saqlain Haider on the third day to ensure Netherlands faced a small fourth innings chase © Peter Della Penna
After going seven years without a victory in the Intercontinental Cup, Netherlands have now won two in a row and are at the top of the table following a four-wicket triumph in the UAE. It’s Netherlands first away win in the ICC’s first-class competition for Associates since they beat the same opponent at Sharjah by 64 runs in January 2008.
The win was set up by captain Peter Borren‘s 96 made as part of a Dutch first innings reply of 315 after holding UAE to 164. The hosts won the toss but could not capitalize as Swapnil Patil’s 41 was the best they could muster on day one. Patil was undone by the left-arm wrist spin of Michael Rippon, who proceeded to wipe out the tail to end with figures of 4 for 45. Borren and Roelof van der Merwe nearly overhauled the UAE total by the end of day one and when van der Merwe fell early on day two, Borren teamed with Wesley Barresi for a 101-run fifth-wicket stand that took the visitors into the lead to claim first innings points.
Borren was eventually dismissed by Ahmed Raza one shot short of what would have been his third first-class century, but at 306 for 7 his side were in a commanding position. Raza continued to roll through the tail to finish with six wickets and set the stage for a stirring fightback by Shaiman Anwar.
Staring at a first innings deficit of 151, Anwar produced a career-best first-class score of 148. The bulk of those runs came in tandem with Saqlain Haider as the pair not only prevented an innings defeat after UAE slid to 80 for 5 but gave their side slim hope of an unlikely come from behind victory with a 144-run partnership.
Seamer Quirijn Gunning sparked a slide of 3 for 1 across 12 deliveries with the second new ball, claiming both Anwar and Haider in the process, to swing momentum back to the Dutch. From 224 for 5, the hosts fell to 225 for 8 and were eventually bowled out for 276 to set up a target of 124. Max O’Dowd and Stephan Myburgh took the Dutch most of the way with 36 and 27 respectively.
The Dutch were 11 short of victory when Borren and Barresi fell in quick succession but van der Merwe carried the Dutch across the line with an unbeaten 27 to give the visitors a maximum 20 points, moving them past Ireland into first place. Ireland play Papua New Guinea in Townsville, Australia later in the third round of play for a chance to reclaim the lead. Meanwhile, UAE have yet to claim any points from their first three matches of the competition.
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
Source: ESPN Crickinfo