The manner in which the Netherlands made it to the main draw of the World T20 has already gone into cricketing folklore. Now, the next step towards sending the Twittersphere into chaos will be by upsetting one, if not more of the big boys, starting with Sri Lanka on Monday.
Against all odds, and then some, Netherlands stormed their way into the Super 10s by stunning Ireland in their last match of the qualifying stage. Needing to chase down 190 in just 14.2 overs, Netherlands brought out a previously unknown striking barrage to send Ireland reeling while bashing down the target in a mere 13.5 overs.
The reward for that incomparable display is a chance to upset the odds yet again. "We're very proud of the fact that we're representing the Associates here now," Netherlands skipper Peter Borren said. "We hope that we can do them proud. It's an achievement in itself that we're the only Associate to have made it this far. It wasn't easy.
"For some of us, this may be the last time at this level, so we'd like to leave this stage with the memory of orange shirts playing some good cricket."
Sri Lanka were pretty impressive in their first match of the World T20, outclassing South Africa with the bat and ball to deservedly take home an opening victory.
However, the Lankans will be well aware of the dangers that lurk around complacency, and having watched the Dutch pull off one unbelievable result, they will not want to be on the receiving end of another.
"Even though we are playing against Netherlands tomorrow, we're not going to underestimate them because we all know that they are a very good T20 team," Sri Lanka skipper Dinesh Chandimal said on Sunday.
"In this format of the game, any team can do well on their day and create major upsets. I watched that match between Ireland and Netherlands. Netherlands played some really good cricket in that game.
"We're hoping we carry forward the basics to tomorrow's game, as we did against South Africa. We have plans for the Netherlands and we have good batsmen and bowlers to suit the conditions."
Where to Watch Live:
World T20 2014: Sri Lanka vs Netherlands Live TV and Streaming Information (Match starts 7.30 pm local time, 7 pm IST, 1.30 pm GMT, 9.30 am ET)
Country | TV Broadcaster |
India | Star Sports 1, Star Sports 3, Star Sports HD1 |
US and Latin America | ESPN |
Canada | Sportsnet |
UK and Ireland | Sky Sports |
Middle East and North Africa | OSN Sport Cricket |
Australia | Fox Sports |
Sub Saharan Africa & South Africa | SuperSport |
New Zealand | Sky Sport |
Europe | EuroSport |
Pakistan | PTV and Ten Sports |
Sri Lanka | CSN |
Bangladesh | Bangladesh TV, Maasranga TV and Gazi TV |
Country | Live Streaming info |
India | HERE |
US | HERE |
UK | HERE |
Middle East | HERE |
Canada | HERE or HERE |
Australia | HERE |
South Africa & Sub Saharan Africa | HERE |
Latin America | HERE |
New Zealand | HERE |
Europe | HERE |
Pakistan | HERE or HERE |
Sri Lanka | HERE |
Team news: Sri Lanka: Kusal Perera has recovered from the knock received at the hands of Dale Steyn in the last match. Perera was impressive against the Proteas scoring a quickfire half-century to help his side to a total of 165. His opening partner - Tillakaratne Dilshan - however, will be under scrutiny after falling to a first-ball duck in the first game.
Lahiru Thirimanne was quite impressive opening the batting in the Asia Cup, and the team management might consider making a change at the top. Experienced spinner Rangana Herath will also be hoping for a look-in, probably at the expense of Ajantha Mendis, who did not make an impact against SA, going for 44 runs from his four overs.
Netherlands: Borren and co. will probably not want to tinker with the team too much as Holland look to ride the wave of momentum created from the massive Ireland victory.
Expected lineups: Sri Lanka: Kusal Perera, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Dinesh Chandimal (capt), Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Sachitra Senanayake, Lasith Malinga, Rangana Herath.
Netherlands: Michael Swart, Stephan Myburg, Wesley Barresi, Peter Borren (capt), Tom Cooper, Ben Cooper, Logan Van Beek, Mudassar Bukhari, Timm Van Der Guggten, Pieter Seelar, Ahsan Malik.