2023 Cricket World Cup: Five takeaways from the Proteas' shock loss to the Netherlands

The Netherlands pulled off one of the greatest upsets in the history of the Cricket World Cup when thy toppled the Proteas in India on Tuesday.

Put in to bat first a the picturesque Dharamsala, the Dutch rallied to post a competitive total before bowling out the Proteas for a memorable 38-run win.

Here, Planet Sport takes a look at five takeaways from the historic encounter. 

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The Proteas were far from clinical with the ball in hand. The bowling unit would rack up no less than 32 extras - 21 wides, one no-ball and ten leg byes - despite the contest being reduced to 43 over a side. Opening the bowling, Lungi Ngidi and Marco Jansen would record six wides each, while young-gun George Coetzee would go for 7.12 an over in his eight over spell. The Proteas will undoubtedly have to improve their discipline and accuracy if they want to reach the knockout stages. 

Edwards and Dutt pack a punch

At 82/5 in the 21st over against a classy bowling attack, the Netherlands had no business rallying to score another 163 runs. Captain Scott Edwards led the charge in the middle-order, finishing on an unbeaten 78 from 69. Edwards has made a habit of rearguard action, posting four other 60-plus scores - including two not-outs and an 83 - in his last ten outings. He was assisted by Aryan Dutt - one of just three Dutch-born players in their XI - who blasted 23 off nine to set a competitive total.

Proteas chasing woes

Going into the clash, Temba Bavuma's men had put on impressive totals of 428 and 311 batting first in their opening two World Cup games, winning both comfortably. As such, the Netherlands' total of 245 should have, at least on paper, not intimidated the Proteas' strong batting lineup. But with their demise, a concerning trend has emerged, as the South Africans have now lost ten out of their last 15 ODIs batting second. Is this cause for concern or a statistical anomaly?

Spin or pace?

Dharamsala offers more pace, bounce and swing than any other of the World Cup venues. As such, the Proteas picked four seamers to do the damage and while they had the Dutch on the ropes at 112/6, their inaccuracy let them back in the contest. Keshav Maharaj, the sole spinner, walked away with relatively tidy figures of 1/35. In contrast to the Proteas pace attack, the three Dutch spinners were miserly and scooped three wickets while building pressure. South Africa may think twice about dropping leg spinner Tabraiz Shamsi in the future.  

More chapters to the underdog story?

The 2023 Cricket World Cup already had one major upset before Tuesday, with lowly Afghanistan defeating reigning world champions England on Sunday. Now, the Netherlands' triumph has further opened the door for perhaps a first-time semi-finalist. It's early doors, but with the likes of England, Australia, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and now the Netherlands all sitting on one win from three matches, the race for top four positions is hotting up. 

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