Ireland vs Netherlands Prediction: Who will win today's T20 World Cup 2021 match?
After a cracking first day of the T20 World Cup, the caravan now moves to Group A of Round 1, with Ireland taking on the Netherlands on Monday at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
Group A also includes Sri Lanka and Namibia, where the former are outright favorites for a top-two finish, with the latter being the clear underdogs. This combination makes today's match all that more important for Ireland and the Netherlands as the winners will likely proceed to the Super 12 stage with the Lankans.
Both challengers are in contrasting positions in terms of recent form. Ireland crushed Papua New Guinea by eight wickets in their first warm-up match and pulled off a brilliant 33-run win over Group B favorites Bangladesh in the second.
The Dutch, meanwhile, had a horrible outing against Scotland, getting bowled out for just 91 and losing the match by a 31-run margin. They made a comeback against Oman in the second warmup game, but the match went closer than the Netherlands would have hoped for as the co-hosts fell short by just four runs in the end.
T20 World Cup 2021: Ireland's troubled batting lineup to clash with the Netherlands' undercooked combination
📬 A message to Irish cricket fans at home and around the world from skipper Andrew Balbirnie.
Will you be #BackingGreen? ☘️🏏
#Ireland https://t.co/gSvtCD8sxn
Ireland come into the tournament as dark horses despite being placed second in the ICC rankings in their group. Most of the disparity could be attributed to the Irish's inability to eke out their ODI success in the shortest format. It could be said that T20s is Ireland's weakest suit, something they'll want to correct in the World Cup.
Most of the workload will once again fall on the shoulders of household names - Kevin O'Brien, Paul Stirling and skipper Andrew Balbirnie. While O'Brien and Stirling provide fire at the top, Balbirnie brings stability. For Ireland to win, it will have to come from these guys as the rest of the batting order is all but papery. The lineup also looks short of a designated finisher in the lower order.
In the bowling department, Josh Little is the key heavyweight. The 21-year-old left-arm quick has 18 wickets to his name from 24 T20Is at an average of just under 38 which, though has room for massive improvement, is a good enough record for the first round. Like his fellow batsmen, Little, too, will have to unassistedly manufacture inspiration for a pace attack that is rather one-dimensional.
Ireland's spin department would be handy, though. Indian-born Simi Singh does what all off-spinners do well - providing control and holding one end. The role of the aggressor is played by leg-spinner Ben White, who could be an X-factor for this match and Ireland's T20 World Cup journey as well.
🎼🇳🇱 Our men are not alone in singing the national anthem during the @T20WorldCup. They will be assisted by young Dutch cricketers on video screens in the stadium.
Of course, it took some practice…⤵️
#CricketNL #T20WorldCup https://t.co/meYibGH9KM
The Netherlands, although much more stable on paper, are equally troubled as their counterparts coming into Abu Dhabi. Since the 2019 Qualifiers for the T20 World Cup, which they emphatically won, the Dutch players haven't had much game time together and lack the required preparation for the UAE wickets.
Their issues were conspicuous in the warmup games as the batting struggled against spin and the bowling lacked incisiveness at times. The top order looked more suited to ODIs and their long-term inefficacy of cracking on in the powerplay might prove decisive as it goes entirely against the tried and tested method used in IPL 2021.
But one factor that's working in their favor is arguably their biggest weapon as well - experience in all departments. The middle order, led by veterans Ryan ten Doeschate and Roelof van der Merwe and new addition Colin Ackerman, is as strong as ever and almost offsets the top-order troubles.
The Dutch spin department is more than safe in the hands of captain Pieter Seelaar and Roelof van der Merwe. The pace attack is as varied as any team in the whole prefecture. Tim van der Gugten is a dangerously witty right-arm medium-pacer who has enough support from Paul van Meekeran's seam movement and Fred Klassen's left-arm variation.
If the Netherlands can be more aggressive at the top and give their bowlers something to work o, they'll be dangerous. However, their lack of preparation and weakness against spin might prove too big an opening for Ireland to exploit on the long boundaries of Abu Dhabi in this likely nail-biting encounter.
Prediction: Ireland to win the third match of T20 World Cup 2021