What a game we had between Zimbabwe and the Netherlands. In the end, Zimbabwe won by 1 run. Netherlands needed 4 runs off the last ball that was bowled by Tendai Chatara, but Fred Klaassen could only get 2 runs. Ryan Klein desperately tried for the third run and got out. Now the series is tied 1-1 and the final match will be played on Saturday at Harare. So far the Dutch performed better than expected. They won the first match by 3 wickets and went down in the second match by a whisker. Encouraging signs for them.
A dramatic win by Zimbabwe. This ODI reminds me of PSL final played few days back and in both matches 4 runs were required on very last ball and in both games only 2 runs were scored. Netherlands needed 19 runs in the last over and last batting pair was on the crease. Fred Klaassen was only able to score 2 runs on last ball. Good fielding in deep extra cover as ball was racing for 4 runs. Series is now level and the third ODI will decide who will be the winner. Zimbabwe need to perform well, there performance is very disappointing.
Zimbabwe, despite getting funding of $12 million per year from the ICC has shown no improvement in the performance. On the other hand, the Dutch are performing exceptionally despite the fact that they receive only $300,000 per year from the ICC. With a little more funding for their development program, the Netherlands would be able to get competitive against the top sides. Two days later, there is an ICC meeting to decide on the fund allocation for the next cycle. It needs to be seen whether the allocation for teams like Netherlands get increased or not.