Brendan defuses Dutch dynamite

New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum led his side from the front for a comprehensive six-wicket win against the Netherlands at Chittagong yesterday. Here he works the ball on the on-side during his 45-ball 65. Photo: Anurup Kanti Das

When Netherlands drove South Africa down to the wire in their last game, it clearly distanced themselves from their horrendous defeat to Sri Lanka and proved that the men in Orange were here not just to fill in the numbers. With pressure mounting on the big four, a mere slip is all that they needed to spoil the elite's party.
And the wind did seem to flow in that direction, yesterday at the Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, for the first 30 overs, when the Dutch were very much in the game. However, a calm half-century from captain Brendan McCullum ensured that the Kiwis go home with six wickets intact and an over remaining.
New Zealand's chase of 152 began in jittery fashion when they lost Martin Guptill in the fourth over. Kane Williamson guided one to the keeper in the ninth and the Netherlands sniffed an opportunity there. There hopes were further raised once Ross Taylor departed in the 13th over leaving the Kiwis in a nervous 88 for 3.
However, a 48-run stand between McCullum and Corey Anderson steadied the ship for the Kiwis. The captain paid due respect to the Dutch bowling, initially dealing mostly in singles. It was only after the departure of Taylor, that McCullum upped the tempo with three sixes and a four in between overs15 and 17. He brought his half-century with a clean swing over extra cover for a six in 39 balls. He finished on 65 and also became the first ever player to score 2000 runs in T20 internationals.  
Earlier, after being put into bat the Dutch scored 62 runs of their first ten overs for the loss of two wickets.  It was an ideal platform for their middle-order to build on and they did exactly that.
Borren, who until yesterday led a rather quiet life in the tournament, unleashed himself by driving Anderson for two consecutive boundaries in the 12th over. After Michael Swart got stumped in the next over, Tom Cooper joined Borren in the middle and that's when the Netherlands went on full throttle.
The pair scored 61 runs in the next 5.5 overs and took their side to 141 for 4 by the 18th over.
The stand, which flourished in boundaries, saw Borren and Cooper smack six fours and three sixes.
In the 15th over, Borren launched Williamson for a six and two fours to get the show running.  A former New Zealand under-19 player, Borren stamped his authority over Williamson right from the second ball when he punched him over long on for a six.
Cooper joined in the fun in the next over, cutting and pulling Mitchell McClenaghan for a six and a four.
At 141 for 4 in the 18th over, a score beyond 170 looked a possibility. However, Borren's replacement—who was caught at point for 49—Ben Cooper missed out on all of Jimmy Neesham's widish deliveries in the penultimate over, which bore only one run.   
A boundary from Cooper in the last over helped him finish on a 23-ball 40 and take the team score past 150.