Colin Ackermann banks on Lucknow familiarity to topple Afghanistan

When the Netherlands qualified for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, it was already a big victory. Even if they wouldn’t have done anything spectacular in the event, they still would have got the pass, but sticking to their pre-season declaration of making it to the semi-final, the Dutchmen have done well to be in the scenario. 

Sure, it is not going to be easy, heck, impossible even, but boy, have they made some solid progress! The Netherlands have gotten the better of South Africa and Bangladesh along the way, and if they can beat Afghanistan in Lucknow, it will be a campaign worth cherishing for the Scott Edwards-led side.

“The plan is to win tomorrow. Obviously got some momentum from our previous game against Bangladesh. I think we're pretty lucky that we've played here before at this venue. I don't think Afghanistan have played here before. So, we're sort of familiar with the conditions from our game [against] Sri Lanka. So hope that will give us a few positives leading into tomorrow,” Netherlands batter Colin Ackermann said ahead of their clash against Afghanistan in Lucknow. 

“The focus is on the semifinal for us. We know that if we win our next three games, we'll make the semifinal. That is our focus at this stage. We're not interested in what's happening in two years’ time. We've got a game to win tomorrow.”

While Netherlands bowlers have impressed, batting hasn’t lived up to the mark in the tournament. Ackermann admitted that it is an issue that they want to solve ahead of the Afghanistan encounter. 

“We haven't formed the foundation that we would have liked as a batting unit this tournament, but I suppose we have to look individually at how we're getting out. We haven't played the perfect game yet with the bat. We know that our middle order and our lower order are very capable of scoring runs towards the back end.

“So, I think if we can set the game up as a top order, top 3- 4 batters. It just takes two guys to form a good partnership, and we'll set up a very good score,” the 32-year-old added.