The Netherlands will join the likes of India and Pakistan, along with Bangladesh and South Africa, in Group 2 of the Super 12 stage of the ongoing T20 World Cup in Australia, as they finished as the runners-up in Group A of the first round of matches.
According to the tournament rules, the runners up of Group A and the winners of Group B are supposed to join Group 2 of the Super 12 stage, and the winner of Group A and runners up of Group B were supposed to be part of Group 1.
By finishing second to Sri Lanka in Group A with two wins from three matches, the Netherlands secured a place in the Super 12s.
The European side won their first two matches against the United Arab Emirates by 3 wickets and against Namibia by 5 wickets, but suffered a 16-run loss against Sri Lanka in their final Group A match earlier on Thursday (October 20), which put their chances of advancing to the next round in jeopardy, but after the United Arab Emirates secured a seven-run win over Namibia in the final Group A match, the Netherlands advanced.
They finished equal on points with Sri Lanka, but the 2014 champions finished at the top because of a superior net run rate. The Namibia team, which stunned Sri Lanka in the first match of the T20 World Cup, couldn’t live up to the hype and lost their remaining two matches, crushing their hopes of reaching the Super 12 stage for a second straight year in a row.
They finished third in Group A with two points from three games and have a slightly higher net run rate than UAE, which finished last with the same number of points.
The Netherlands, who have stunned England twice in T20 World Cups in the past, will open their Super 12 campaign against Bangladesh on October 24 (Monday) at Bellerive Oval in Hobart. In their second game, they will be up against India on Thursday (October 27) at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
The Netherlands will then face Pakistan on Sunday (October 30) at Perth Stadium, and their fourth game is against the winner of Group B in Adelaide on November 2 (Wednesday). The Scott Edwards-led side will play their final Super 12 match against South Africa on November 6 (Sunday) in Adelaide.
