T20 World Cup 2021: Ireland face tough Netherlands in their opener

The
Group
A
match
will
be
vital
to
hopes
of
both
the
teams
progressing
to
the
Super
12
stage.
The
Netherlands
have
reasons
to
be
confident,
having
won
seven
of
their
12
T20Is
against
Ireland.
They
also
come
out
on
top
in
their
recent
ODI
series.

Ireland
have
registered
World
Cup
victories
over
Pakistan
(2007),
England
(2011),
West
Indies
(2015)
and
Zimbabwe
(2015),
and
Bangladesh
(2009
T20
World
Cup).

ICC
T20
World
Cup
2021:
Oman
vs
PNG
preview

Now
firmly
established
as
a
force
to
be
reckoned
with,
they
can
both
make
a
statement
and
take
a
big
step
forward
in
the
tournament.
Ireland
surprised
many
by
reaching
the
second
round
of
T20
World
Cup
in
2009
—
their
debut
tournament.

They
haven’t
made
it
further
than
the
first
round
in
their
four
tournaments
since,
missing
out
on
net-run
rate
in
2014.
This
time,
they
will
be
chasing
their
first
win
in
a
T20
World
Cup
tournament
since
2014.

A
mix
of
golden
age
mainstays
and
young
talent,
Ireland
qualified
for
this
year’s
tournament
by
topping
their
group
in
the
qualifier
on
net
run
rate,
even
after
dropping
matches
to
Canada
and
UAE.

Last
playing
a
T20I
back
in
March
2020
—
a
three-match
series
they
lost
1-2
—
Ireland
have
had
mixed
results
in
recent
times,
having
first
won
the
tri-series
final
against
Scotland
in
a
thrilling
finish
at
home,
and
then
going
down
to
hosts
Oman
in
the
pentangular
series
to
finish
second
in
the
competition.

The
experienced
Kevin
O’Brien
will
be
their
key
player,
having
also
been
in
the
team
in
2009,
playing
a
match-winning
hand
alongside
brother
Niall
against
Bangladesh
with
a
stroke-filled
17-ball
39
not
out.
He
then
shot
to
fame
in
2011,
scoring
the
fastest-ever
century
in
the
50-over
World
Cup
to
script
an
emphatic
win
against
England
in
Bengaluru.

He
brought
up
Ireland’s
first-ever
century
in
the
shortest
format,
striking
124
off
just
62
balls
against
Oman
earlier
this
month.
Netherlands
made
the
showpiece
event
by
reaching
the
semi-finals
of
the
T20
World
Cup
Qualifier
tournament,
which
they
went
on
to
win.

The
Netherlands
have
been
at
the
heart
of
some
of
the
most
memorable
moments
in
T20
World
Cup
history
with
brilliant
one-off
successes,
including
famous
victories
against
England
in
2009
at
Lord’s
and
2014.

In
the
2014
edition,
they
had
beaten
Ireland
as
they
chased
down
a
total
of
190
in
less
than
14
overs
to
qualify
for
the
second
stage.
With
proven
match-winners
like
Ryan
Ten
Doeschate,
Ben
Cooper,
Roelof
van
der
Merwe
and
Pieter
Seelaar
in
their
ranks,
the
Dutch
will
be
hopeful
of
returning
to
the
second
stage
of
the
T20
World
Cup
this
month
and
then
bettering
their
previous
best
tournament
performance.

The
calming
presence
of
captain
Pieter
Seelaar
will
be
key
for
the
Dutch
hopes
of
getting
out
of
Round
1.
A
veteran
of
15
years
in
international
cricket,
Seelaar
has
experienced
the
various
highs
and
lows
of
Dutch
cricket.

The
Teams
(From):

Netherlands:
Pieter
Seelaar
(c),
Colin
Ackermann,
Philippe
Boissevain,
Ben
Cooper,
Bas
de
Leede,
Scott
Edwards,
Brandon
Glover,
Fred
Klaassen,
Stephan
Myburgh,
Max
O’Dowd,
Ryan
Ten
Doeschate,
Logan
van
Beek,
Timm
van
der
Gugten,
Roelof
van
der
Merwe
and
Paul
van
Meekeren.

Ireland:
Gary
Wilson
(c),
Mark
Adair,
Andy
Balbirnie,
David
Delany,
Gareth
Delany,
George
Dockrell,
Shane
Getkate,
Kevin
O’Brien,
Boyd
Rankin,
Simi
Singh,
Paul
Stirling,
Harry
Tector,
Stuart
Thompson,
Lorcan
Tucker
and
Craig
Young.

Match
starts
at
3:30pm
IST.