Netizens react as Netherlands stun South Africa in 2nd upset of ODI World Cup

The Netherlands, counted amongst minnows in the cricket world, pulled a major upset on October 17 as the team defeated the in-form South Africa at their ODI World Cup bout in Himachal Pradesh’s Dharamshala.

Batting first, the Dutch side survived initial blows to end up posting a formidable total of 245/8, in a match that was reduced to 43 overs each due to the afternoon rains.

The South African side, which had made a mark at the start of the tournament by posting a score of 428 in their match against Sri Lanka, was found to be outmatched against the Netherlands’ bowling attack.

The Proteas ended up being bowled out for 207, losing the match by 38 runs.

Here’s how netizens reacted to the Netherlands’ historic win:

“Once a choker, always a choker. Another upset,” a netizen identified as Shubham tweeted. “The chokers displaying what they are famous…This helps Pakistan and Australia,” another X user added.

“There is something that affects South Africa in big tournaments…they fail to handle the pressure despite being a solid side,” posted a user on Facebook. “It seems like they turn jittery against the Netherlands, especially while facing Reolof van der Merwe, who was once a regular in the South African side,” added another user.

“Netherlands many many congratulations on your historic win. You were discipline thru out the game. Specially in bowling (sic),” former Indian pacer Irfan Pathan tweeted.

The surprise victory of Netherlands also sparked a meme fest on social media.

Social media users were also quick to recall that the Netherlands had also defeated South Africa in the T20 World Cup last year, leading to the latter being knocked out of the tournament.

Notably, three players in the Netherlands side had earlier donned the green jersey.

“What an incredible story the Dutch have written for themselves,” said former Indian batter VVS Laxman.

“Orange Power. What a victory by the Dutch. Special special effort and what a great day in the history of Dutch Cricket (sic),” former Indian fast bowler Venkatesh Prasad said.

Despite this defeat, South Africa remains placed at the third spot in the points table, having won 2 out of their 3 games so far. Netherlands is placed at the second last position, with only 1 victory out of their 3 matches so far.