BULAWAYO: Bas de Leede struck a superb 123 (92 balls, 7 fours, 5 sixes) as the Netherlands sealed qualification for the 50-over World Cup in India with a four-wicket victory over Scotland in its final ‘Super Six’ match here on Thursday.
The Netherlands needed to chase down its target of 278 in 44 overs in order to leapfrog Scotland into second place in the table, on net run rate. The Dutch side achieved the feat in just 42.5 overs to join Sri Lanka as the qualifying teams from the preliminary tournament.
The Netherlands, which has missed several key players during the Qualifiers, will appear in its fifth World Cup, its first since 2011.
The Netherlands elected to field first and restricted Scotland to 277 for nine on a good batting surface. In-form Scotland batter Brandon McMullen smashed 106 (110 balls, 11 fours, 3 sixes), his second century of the Qualifiers, and Richie Berrington (64 off 84 balls, 3 fours, 2 sixes) struck a half-century while De Leede took 5/52 off 10 overs.
The Netherlands was up with the rate for most of its chase and a burst from De Leede sealed the win. After registering his first ODI century, he was run out when his team needed two runs for victory.