New Zealand defeated Netherlands in the World Cup 2023 clash on October 9 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad courtesy of some exceptional performances by their batting lineup. All-rounder Mitchell Santner made sure that they finished on a high note as he smashed 13 runs on the last ball of the NZ vs NED match.
The New Zealand opening pair of Will Young and Devon Conway gave them a steady start in their second World Cup 2023 game. Young went on to play a crucial knock of 70 runs that laid the foundation for a big total against Netherlands.
Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell and skipper Tom Latham too kept the momentum going as they scored some vital runs for the Kiwis side. However, they lost a few wickets in a bunch after which Mitchell Santner had the responsibility to finish the innings on a high note.
Mitchell Santner scores 13 runs off the final delivery against Bas de Leede
Santner had just played 12 deliveries and scored 18 runs by the end of the 49th over. He smashed a boundary towards extra cover on the very first delivery of the final over bowled by Dutch all-rounder Bas de Leede.
The pair of Matt Henry and Santner then ran 4 singles off the next four deliveries of the 50th over. The Kiwi all-rounder got the strike back to face the final delivery of the NZ vs NED contest as he looked to finish the innings with a boundary.
Bas de Leede made a terrible mistake as he went for a low full-toss but ended up bowling it over the waist height and Santner managed to smash it over the deep backward point for a six. The umpire adjudged it to be a no-ball.
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The New Zealand all-rounder now had the liberty to smash the ball wherever he wanted as it was a free hit. Bas de Leede went for another low full-toss and this time Santner smoked it over the long-on boundary for another maximum and managed to get 13 runs in the last ball of the innings in NZ vs NED match.
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Mitchell Santner remained unbeaten after scoring 36 runs off just 17 deliveries while Bas de Leede was livid with himself after conceding 21 runs of the 50th over. The New Zealand side posted a mammoth total of 322-7 and defended it quite comfortably as the Dutch side were bowled out after scoring just 223 runs.