Ireland vs. Netherlands: How Big Hitters Helped the Dutch to Progress

The Netherlands had 19 sixes to thank as they smashed their way into the Super 10.

Ireland set their stall out with 189-4, and they would have qualified themselves had they won the match.

But their opponents had other ideas, as they bagged 193 off just 13.5 to progress into Group 1.

Hit Them Hard, Hit Them Fast

Stephan Myburgh faced just 17 balls as he hit his half century against Ireland.

This, according to Cricket Country, makes him the second-fastest to do so in T20 and international cricket history:

Batsman	Team	Opposition	Balls Faced	Year
Yuvraj Singh	India	England	12	2007
Stephan Myburgh	Netherlands	Ireland	17	2014
Paul Stirling	Ireland	Afghanistan	17	2012
David Warner	Australia	West Indies	18	2010
David Warner	Australia	South Africa	19	2009
Gautam Gambhir	India	Sri Lanka	19	2009
Mohammad Ashraful	Bangladesh	West Indies	20	2007
Yuvraj Singh	India	Australia	20	2007
Yuvraj Singh	India	Sri Lanka	20	2009

It's this sort of form that will provide serious encouragement to the side as they go into the Super 10.

Making quick work of Ireland, who had proved formidable with two wins themselves in the qualifying round, was no easy feat.

That wasn't the only World Record to be broken during the match, though, as tweeted by Cricket Ireland:

Speaking at a press conference, Peter Borren told of how tight it was in cricket, and despite being lost for words, spoke of his side's excitement for the Super 10, per ESPN Cricinfo's Firdose Moonda:

"

We played two and half very good games of cricket. We'll bounce back. We'll go back to Ireland. We've got ODIs against Sri Lanka in five weeks time and that will be the next stage for us to rebuild. I can feel for them in that regard.

It's difficult to play against a team with nothing to lose. We're very excited. It's a fantastic feeling; I dont really know what to say.The teams ranked from eight to about 18 - there are a lot of competitive teams there. Anyone can beat anyone on the day. That's been shown in the last two days.

I hope people have enjoyed the cricket. There's been some fantastic games. I hope people have sat up and noticed.

"

The Netherlands will face England, New Zealand, South Africa and Sri Lanka in their Super 10 group.

It's a short break until their tournament begins on March 24, with a tough match against Sri Lanka, who lost out to the West Indies in the 2012 final.

It will be another tough test for the Dutch, who will have to take their batting spirit into the tournament.

How The Netherlands Overcame The Irish

A.M. Ahad/Associated Press

Ireland opened the batting in Sylhet, having lost the toss, as William Porterfield and Paul Stirling took to the crease, per ESPN Cricinfo.

Together, the pair notched 28 before Stirling was caught by Borren from Timm van der Gugten's delivery.

Ireland Innings
Bowler	Overs	Maidens	Runs
Batsman	Dismissal	Bowler	Runs	Mins	Balls
Porterfield		b Jamil	47	35	32
Stirling	c Borren	b van der Gugten	7	13	9
Joyce	run out (Barresi)		28	35	25
Poynter	c van Beek	b Jamil	57	45	38
K O'Brien	not out		42	32	16
Extras	0nb 2w 0b 6lb	8
Total	for 4	189
Swart	4.0	0	39
van der Gugten	3.0	0	32
Jamil	4.0	0	26
Bukhari	3.0	0	26
Cooper	1.0	0	8
Borren	2.0	0	19
Seelaar	2.0	0	15
van Beek	1.0	0	18

Dismissed for just seven runs, Ed Joyce then partnered Porterfield as the pair made it to 69-2.

Porterfield's day then ended just three runs shy of the half century, as Joyce continued with Andrew Poynter up to 88-3.

Poynter did what Porterfield couldn't and reached 50, but saw his day curtailed on 57 after Logan van Beek caught him from Ahsan Malik's bowl.

A.M. Ahad/Associated Press

Kevin O'Brien continued, hitting 42 until the end of play, with Ireland notching 189.

But then came the Netherlands, who recorded 134 runs in side the first three batsmen.

Borren and Myburgh began the run chase, managing 91 runs before Borren's dismissal.

The 30-year-old, caught by George Dockrell from Kevin O'Brien's throw, hit four fours and two sixes to set his side on its way to the Super 10.

Netherlands Innings
Bowler	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets
Batsman	Dismissal	Bowler	Runs	Mins	Balls
Borren	c Dockrell	b K O'Brien	31	26	15
Myburgh	c Joyce	b Dockrell	63	29	23
Barresi	not out		40	34	22
van Beek	c Porterfield	b K O'Brien	1	3	3
Cooper	c K O'Brien	b Murtagh	45	14	15
Cooper	not out		9	11	5
Extras	0nb 0w 0b 4lb	4
Total	for 4	193	(13.5 ovs)
Stirling	2.0	0	24	0
McBrine	1.0	0	24	0
Murtagh	3.5	0	47	1
Cusack	1.0	0	22	0
K O'Brien	3.0	0	29	2
Dockrell	3.0	0	43	1

This was followed by a 40-finish from Wesley Barresi, who hit three fours and three sixes himself, remaining not out.

It wasn't long after that Myburgh walked, too, having notched 63 runs in just 29 minutes.

An impressive batting display in under half an hour saw Myburgh hit four fours and an excellent seven sixes.

Van Beek, arriving at the crease at 98-2, hoped that he could emulate his predecessors and hit big.

That didn't happen, though.

A.M. Ahad/Associated Press

Caught by Porterfield after just one run, he was sent back off of the crease as Tom Cooper replaced the early fallen batsman.

Cooper had much better form with the bat, notching one four and six sixes as he final-scored with 45.

Ben Cooper then stepped out and hit nine, as he helped his side onto 193/4 after just 119 minutes of batting.