The Netherlands began their second World Cup match against New Zealand by maintaining a tight grip on the ball, preventing any runs from being scored in the first three overs of the innings. This remarkable feat equalled a historical record.
For the second consecutive time at the 2023 World Cup, the Netherlands won the toss and chose to field first. They once again had an impressive start with their bowling attack at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on October 9.
In their previous game against Pakistan at the same venue, the Netherlands had managed to take three wickets in the first ten overs, leaving their opponents struggling at 38-3.
Today's performance was even more exceptional, as they began with three consecutive maiden overs, matching the record for the most successive maiden overs to start an innings in the history of the men's ODI World Cup.
Aryan Dutt, who also opened the bowling in the last game against England, took the new ball once more. However, his bowling partner for today was different, with Ryan Klein replacing Logan van Beek. Together, they bowled tightly and consistently, making it challenging for the New Zealand opening pair of Devon Conway and Will Young to find gaps in the field.
This marked the second time in men's ODI World Cup history that an innings started with three consecutive maiden overs. The first instance occurred during the West Indies-South Africa game in Cape Town during the 2003 World Cup, where Shaun Pollock and Makhaya Ntini combined to bowl three maiden overs against the West Indies opening duo of Chris Gayle and Wavell Hinds. In total, this was the 14th such occurrence in men's ODI history.
Despite the initial slow start, Conway and Young managed to recover quickly, going on a scoring spree and adding 43 runs in the next four overs. By the end of the first ten overs, New Zealand's score stood at 63-0, which was not what the Netherlands had anticipated after their remarkable initial performance.
However, Conway's innings came to an end in the 13th over when he was caught at deep mid-wicket, attempting to launch the left-arm spinner Roelof van der Merwe out of the ground, having scored 32 runs.