CHENNAI: Saiteja Mukkamalla slammed a fine half-century and shared a productive stand with skipper Monank Patel as the United States posted a competitive 196 for 6 against the Netherlands in a T20 World Cup game here on Friday. In reply, the Netherlands was bundled out for 103. On the back of this impressive win, the US recorded its maiden win in four attempts against Netherlands.
The Netherlands’ batting came a cropper in the face of a daunting target. The Dutch kept losing wickets at regular intervals, collapsing to 103 all out with more than four overs to spare. None of the Dutch batters looked comfortable as the US spinners, led by Harmeet Singh, applied the choke on them. Harmeet finished with an impressive haul of 4-0-21-4. He received good support from Mohammad Mohsin who took two for 19. Bas de Leede emerged the top-scorer for the Netherlands with 23 (17b, 1x4, 1x6).
Earlier, Mukkamalla’s 79 off 51 balls was studded with five boundaries and four sixes. He shared a 55-run stand for the second wicket with opener Monank Patel (36 off 22 balls) which gave the team a decent start.
Once Patel was dismissed and the USA slipped to 82/2, 21-year-old Mukkamalla took charge, scoring with urgency and intent, keeping the innings alive as the team looked to bounce back after losing their first two games in the tournament. What stood out was Mukkamalla’s hitting on the off-side, including maximums over covers. His driving was top notch, while Shubham Ranjane towards the end punished the short ball tactic employed by the Netherlands bowlers.
Ranjane then finished the innings in style, scoring an unbeaten 48 off 24 balls, adding the late fireworks that gave the USA a healthy-looking total.
Netherlands’ pace stalwart Bas de Leede took three wickets including that of Mukkamalla.
Earlier, Netherlands skipper Scott Edwards won the toss and opted to bowl.
BRIEF SCORES: USA 196 for 6 in 20 overs (Monank Patel 36, Saiteja Mukkamalla 79, Shubham Ranjane 48 not out; Bas de Leede 3/37) bt Netherlands 103 in 15.5 overs (H Singh 4/21).