In the fifth over of the Netherlands’ chase against Namibia, Bas de Leede had the crowd on its feet. He walked down the pitch and launched pacer Max Heingo for a six over long-on. The Arun Jaitley Stadium, sparsely populated on a workday afternoon — no more than 3,000 people — responded as if a hometown favourite had just cleared the ropes. For a fleeting moment, it felt like it was Virat Kohli who was batting on a Sunny Tuesday afternoon in Delhi.
There was a lot of Kohli in that shot from de Leede, reminiscent of the India batter’s now-famous hit off Haris Rauf. Much like Rauf that night, Heingo had done little wrong. He saw the batter advance, shortened his length, did what the coaching manuals suggest. And yet, through a mix of power, high elbow, exceptional reflexes, and something close to divine intervention, the ball disappeared. It was the kind of shot most batters don’t play even once in their careers.
De Leede built his innings around that moment. He remained unbeaten on 72 off 48 balls, striking five fours and four sixes, as the Netherlands chased down 157 in just 18 overs. It was a controlled, assured knock — the kind that rarely makes headlines unless it is delivered by a star.
It is probably de Leede’s misfortune that his six will not circulate on social media the way Kohli’s did. There will be no slowed-down edits, no breathless commentary clips.
But when de Leede was asked about the comparison in the post-match press conference, his face lit up.
The young all-rounder spoke about the work the Netherlands had put in ahead of the tournament, and why the opening loss to Pakistan had hurt as much as it did. A win there, he admitted, could have changed the complexion of their campaign entirely. The Dutch might have been favourites to qualify for the Super 8, alongside co-hosts India.
“Yeah, we’ve had a lot of discussion as a team about how we want to play this World Cup,” de Leede said. “The mindset change — from being a 160 team to hopefully now being able to score 180 or 200 — has really helped the purpose of training.”
“I think we’ve had three months indoors in the Netherlands, in the freezing cold. So to be out here first in Chennai for a preparation camp, and now in India, is nice. It’s a much better climate than back home. But it’s good to see the work we put in as a group back home come through in the games.”
REDEMPTION OF 2023
There was a certain poetry to de Leede producing such a performance at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Just over a year ago, at the 2023 ODI World Cup, he had endured the most brutal evening of his career. Australia, led by Glenn Maxwell, dismantled the Netherlands attack, with de Leede conceding 115 runs — the worst figures in ODI history.
“To be honest, it’s obviously a record nobody wants,” de Leede said. “But I wasn’t too fussed about it, and it wasn’t in the back of my head today. I’m pretty forgetful with performances. So it’s nice to put in a good one.”
On Tuesday, de Leede registered figures of 2/20 from 3 overs, which included the dismissal of Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus.
Sources close to the team say the Netherlands have invested significant time in range-hitting ahead of this T20 World Cup. It showed in de Leede’s batting, particularly in how decisively he put away anything in his zone.
The Dutch held two training camps in India before the tournament. After stints in Mumbai and South Africa, the squad assembled at the Chennai Super Kings’ academy. De Leede revealed that the team trained on three different types of soil to prepare for conditions across India and Sri Lanka.
“We played three practice games and had a lot of training sessions,” he said. “We trained on red soil, black soil and mixed soil. It helps you understand the different kinds of pitches India offers.”
As the Netherlands prepare to face the USA and then India, de Leede will draw confidence from the spark he provided against Namibia. For a side operating on thin margins, performances like these matter deeply.
For teams like the Netherlands, these moments carry extra weight. A six that lifts a small crowd. A spell that shifts the tempo of the game. Not because they change everything overnight, but because they offer proof — that the work is translating, that the gap is not as wide as it sometimes feels.
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