Netherlands’ Roelof van der Merwe celebrates the wicket of Pakistan’s Babar Azam, left, during the T20 World Cup cricket match between Netherlands and Pakistan in Colombo, Sri Lanka. (PTI) NEW DELHI: If there’s one standout trend in this T20 World Cup so far, it’s the affiliate teams pushing full-fledged nations to the limit.It all started when the Netherlands almost overcame Pakistan in the very first game of the tournament and, had it not been for O’Dowd’s 19-minute catch from Faheem Ashraf, the Dutch would have finished second in Group A. But when they take on Namibia at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Tuesday, the Netherlands may have the edge after coming through a high-pressure game against Pakistan.“When we got off the bus in Delhi, coach Ryan Cook said the past is the past, there’s nothing we can do about it and we have to look forward to the next game against Namibia,” Dutch batsman Colin Niel Ackermann said at a pre-match press conference on Monday.The Netherlands will be looking to open their account on the points table as they went full throttle in their pursuit of the same in Tuesday’s only pre-match training session.Meanwhile, Namibia is not low hanging fruit and would be a tough nut to crack. The Namibian team, led by Gerhard Erasmus, is a well-oiled machine. In their last T20 international match, Namibia defeated South Africa by four wickets.However, the fact that no competitive international is being played after that could be cause for concern. “We played South Africa which was four months ago (October 2025). We haven’t had a competitive game since then. We played Afghanistan in the warm-up,” Namibia head coach Craig Williams told TimesofIndia.com on Sunday.Netherlands would be jubilant with their performance against Pakistan. However, this match in Colombo also exposed some of their vulnerabilities. At 105/4 in the 13th over, Netherlands were well placed for a 160-plus total but lost five wickets in 42 overs as Pakistan’s spinners tightened the screws.Six Dutch batsmen fell to spinners while Scott Edwards’ men also kept missing their lengths in the death overs.Namibia will take encouragement from these gaps and with India’s 2011 World Cup-winning coach Gary Kirsten as a consultant, the Gerhard Erasmus-led side will fancy their chances.Namibia will rely on their front runners and wickets in the T20Is. Gerhard Erasmus has 1,833 runs in 77 innings at an average of 32.15, while Bernard Scholtz has 79 wickets at an average of 19.79 and an economy of 6.18.Netherlands and Namibia have faced each other in four completed T20Is so far, with Netherlands holding a 3-1 lead. Their last encounter was in February 2024 when the Dutch posted 247 for 5 to win the match by 59 runs.Namibia and the Netherlands are in Group A along with India, Pakistan and the United States. For both teams, the equation is simple. A win will keep their campaign on track, while a loss will reduce their room for error. The Netherlands’ campaign could very well end if they lose.Namibia vs Netherlands: Everything you need to knowWhen: Tuesday, February 10, 11:00 AM ISTWhere: Arun Jaitley Stadium, New DelhiWhere to watch: Star Sports Network for live TV and JioHotstar for live streamingRecord per head:Total number of matches 5Namibia: 1The Netherlands 3No result: 1The performance of both teams in their last 5 matches, respectivelyNamibia: W, W, W, WNetherlands: W, L, L, NR, LplatoonsNamibia: Gerhard Erasmus (c), Zane Green, Bernard Scholtz, Ruben Trumpelmann, JJ Smit, Jan Frylinck, Louren Steenkamp, Malan Kruger, Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Jack Brassell, Ben Shikongo, JC Balt, Dylan Leicher, WP Myburgh, Max HeingoScott Edwards (c), Colin Ackermann, Noah Croes, Bass of Leede, Aryan Dut,
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