Daijiworld Media Network

Chittagong, Mar 29 : Hello and welcome to Game 25 of the T20 Cup. Toss and team details coming at you in just a bit..

The Dutch side, brimming with talent, will be eager to put up another eye-catching show, while simultaneously plotting to upset New Zeland's apple cart. With the pitches in Bangladesh aiding spin, will Ronnie Hira break into the XI?

Netherlands were mauled by Sri Lanka but the Orange brigade gave South Africa a major scare on Thursday. Ahsan Malik and Tom Cooper lead the bowling and batting charts respectively. However, much will hinge upon Stephan Myburgh's pyrotechnics at the top of the order.

Stung by Dale Steyn's scorching spell at the death, New Zealand will seek to bounce back as the T20 Cup hurtles towards its business end. Currently sandwiched between South Africa and England, the Kiwis will also have one eye on boosting the net run rate to escape the mid-table congestion. By all means, the English are back into the reckoning in the aftermath of the Hales storm.

New Zealand have won the toss and have opted to field

Brendon McCullum: 'We are focussed. We are respectful of these guys but we have a squad that can be quite competitive. The wicket may hold up, looking at the strength of their bowling. They are suited to this pitch. There will not be intense dew but it will slide on later in the innings. Tim Southee misses out and so does Munro. Boult and Neesham come in.'

Barresi: 'It has been quite a roller coaster, an adventure tour. We have been working hard. It was unfortunate to be bowled out for 39 in one game but to come back like that against South Africa was fantastic. We lack experience, we lack depth at times but we have stroke-players. We need to assess the conditions first and restrict them to around 150. That will be par here.'

Pitch report: 'Lovely 22 yards. Beautiful overhead conditions. The boundaries square of the wicket are very short. The Dutch played Sri Lanka here, the Kiwis played South Africa here', says Danny Morrison. 'It is a nice pitch. 160-170 will be a good score. You have to be careful with the shot selection. There are a few cracks, it could even crumble later. The team that wins the toss must bat first', reckons Russel Arnold

Teams:

Netherlands (Playing XI): Stephan Myburgh, Michael Swart, Wesley Barresi(w), Tom Cooper, Peter Borren(c), Ben Cooper, Logan van Beek, Mudassar Bukhari, Timm van der Gugten, Pieter Seelaar, Ahsan Malik

New Zealand (Playing XI): Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson, Brendon McCullum(c), Ross Taylor, Corey Anderson, James Neesham, Luke Ronchi(w), Nathan McCullum, Trent Boult, Kyle Mills, Mitchell McClenaghan

Peter Borren: 'We are hoping for a good performance. We were in there for 70% of the game against South Africa. We are in good shape. It looks drier as the tournament wears on. We would have also liked to bowl on. We are going in with the same XI. We should have got over the line against a top side. We are backing the same boys.'

Match Preview :

Netherlands have another chance to showcase their prowess when they take on New Zealand in a Group 1 league game in the World T20 in Chittagong on Saturday. The Kiwis meanwhile can involve themselves in a three-way race to the semi-finals with Sri Lanka and South Africa. If they do beat the Dutch with a significant margin, their net run rate would keep them well ahead of the Proteas, with one last game to go for the top three in the group.
Netherlands: It has been a strange tournament for the Dutch so far. No one can accuse them of not looking the part with the big boys in international cricket. First they decimated Ireland to qualify for the Super 10s, then they were crushed by Sri Lanka before Netherlands exhibited their undoubted talent and limited experience in a narrow loss to South Africa.

Netherlands are not blessed with stars but what they can do is count on some of their proven performers like Myburgh, Barresi, Borren and the Cooper brothers to pack a punch against quality opposition. Their challenge in the World T20 is as good as over but another sharp game like the one against South Africa, will hold the Netherlands in good stead in the time to come.
Key Players: Malik Jamil, with his maiden fifer in international cricket and Myburgh with an explosive fifty against an attack led by Dale Steyn, let the world know that the Netherlands were no pushovers and they were in Bangladesh to compete. One gets the feeling, the Dutch would once again revolve their show around this pair.
New Zealand: The Black Caps have not had a lot of success in ICC events, barring the ICC KnockOut in Kenya in 2000 but they have always shown some spark - just like they have in this tournament. After escaping with a lucky D/L win over England in their first game, New Zealand were stopped in their tracks by Dale Steyn as they were subjected to a two-run loss.

However, the power packed batting line-up, boasting of Kane Williamson, Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor and Brendon McCullum will throw a stiff challenge to the Dutch bowlers, who did show some discipline against the South Africans.

It is important for New Zealand to come out all guns blazing against the minnows and ensure they collect the two points that would pit them level with Sri Lanka and South Africa and also bolster their net run rate further.

Key Players: Taylor is always the key man for New Zealand in any tournament and he is by far their best batsman. Skipper McCullum is a dangerous player in this format and would love to explode against the Netherlands in an attempt to intimidate them. Kyle Mills will lead the bowling attack and you can expect him to cause a few concerns for the Dutchmen.

Ground Reality: Formerly known as the Chittagong Divisional Stadium, the ground first hosted international cricket in 2006. Both New Zealand and the Netherlands have played two T20 Internationals in Chittagong but while the Black Caps have won one of them, the Dutch have lost both.

Stats: - Brendon McCullum is 21 short of becoming the first man to get to 2000 runs in T20 Internationals

Quotes: We had a good opportunity to beat South Africa and we've got two more opportunities left. The hope is that we can get one win against New Zealand or England and go home a little bit happier - Peter Borren, Netherlands captain