6, 6, 6, 6… Star player smashes match-winning 72 off 48 balls after Pakistan heartbreak, helps Netherlands set RECORD in T20 World Cup

The Netherlands posted their first win of T20 World Cup 2026 with a seven-wicket triumph over Namibia in a Group A match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Netherlands all-rounder Bas de Leede en route to scoring 72 vs Namibia in T20 World Cup 2026 match in New Delhi on Tuesday. (Photo: PTI)

Namibia vs Netherlands T20 World Cup 2026: The Netherlands bounced back from their heart-breaking three-wicket loss to Pakistan in their opening match of T20 World Cup 2026 by defeating Namibia by seven wickets to keep their dreams of qualifying for the Super 8 stages alive. The architect of the win was star all-rounder Bas de Leede, who smashed a match-winning 72 off 48 balls with 4 massive sixes and 5 fours as the Dutch chased down 159-run target with 2 overs to spare at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Tuesday.

De Leede’s side also set a new record with his dominant win over Namibia in the Group A clash. Netherlands posted a record-extending 11th win in the T20 World Cup – the most-ever by any Associate nation in this tournament. Scotland are far behind them with 8 wins while Afghanistan as an Associate nation only had 5 wins.

Netherlands skipper Scott Edwards won the toss and elected to bowl first against Namibia. The Dutch used 8 bowling options in the first innings on the rather slow surface at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Logan van Beek, the villain of match against Pakistan when he conceded 24 runs in his final over, redeemed himself with figures of 2/13 in 3 overs while Bas de Leede picked up 2/20 as Namibia were restricted to 156 for 8.

But it was with the bat that De Leede delighted the sparse Delhi crowd the most. The 26-year-old all-rounder completed his 50 off 38 balls with 3 sixes and 3 fours to completely take the contest away from the African Eagles.

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WATCH Bas de Leede’s whirlwind fifty vs Namibia HERE…

All-round brilliance!
After a couple of wickets with the ball, Bas de Leede is guiding Netherlands home with a sublime fifty!
ICC Men’s #T20WorldCup | #NEDvNAM | LIVE NOW https://t.co/7BPhEXzF8o pic.twitter.com/vri3CwXkOs
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) February 10, 2026

De Leede has now scored 353 runs in 10 innings in a winning cause for the Netherlands at an amazing average of 176.5 with a strike-rate of 132.7. “I think we were lucky to bowl first. It gave us a good look at the wicket and I thought we adjusted really well as a bowling group. And then batting wise, later in the game, I feel like it started skidding on a bit. So, again, credit to the batters for adjusting to that,” De Leede said at the post-match presentation.

“We found the wicket was a little bit sticky. So both spinners and seamers were trying to bowl a little bit shorter. We were trying to get guys to hit balls that weren’t really there for them. I think as a batting group, we speak a lot about adapting to different conditions and we saw guys coming in who looked as ready as they could. Which I think was the best suited on this wicket. It’s allowed me to focus, especially the last couple of months,” he added.

Bas de Leede is son of former Netherlands all-rounder Tim de Leede, who was part of the Netherlands team in 1996, 2003 and 2007 ODI World Cup campaign. Before this game, De Leede had scored 753 runs and picked up 39 wickets in 46 T20I matches for the Dutch.

He put on 70 runs for the second wicket with Colin Ackerman, who scored 32 in 28 balls with 1 six to his name. Earlier, Michael Levitt once again got Netherlands off to a flying star with 28 off 15 balls with 3 sixes and 1 four.

Netherlands have now got 2 points just like India and Pakistan and will next take on USA in Chennai on Friday while Namibia will take on co-hosts Team India in New Delhi on Thursday.

For all latest updates of T20 World Cup 2026 you can visit: https://www.india.com/icc-mens-t20-world-cup-2026/

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