Netherlands managed to give England the fright of their lives before going down in a hard fought encounter at Nagpur. The Dutch made the most of their meagre bowling resources with lion hearted performances in a show that should prove a few points to the ICC. Kevin Pietersen struggled in his new role as an opener and if not for the aggressiveness displayed by Strauss, England might have struggled for a decent opening. Trott continued to revel at one down with yet another half-century to continue his amazing consistency at international level. Useful contributions from Bell and Collingwood sealed victory for England, who looked sloppy and unconvincing in the first half of the match. The fact that the fiesty Dutch team lost the battle only in the end which can be attributed to their lack of exposure to top-flight cricket, but they did win the hearts of the sparse crowd, who egged them on vociferously. England will have a lot of questions posed over their insipid display ahead of the mouth watering clash against pre-tournament favourites, India. Netherlands, on the other hand can take a lot of heart from this performance and look forward with fresh enthusiasm ahead of their clash against West Indies.
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