Max O’Dowd hit an unbeaten 54 to guide the Netherlands to a six-wicket victory over Nepal in their T20 World Cup Group D opener on Tuesday. O’Dowd’s patient knock, made off 48 balls, ensured a safe finish for the Dutch, who ended on 109-4 in 18.4 overs at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas. 

Earlier, a disciplined bowling performance by the Netherlands restricted Nepal to 106 all out. The Dutch bowlers maintained pressure throughout, setting up a manageable target for their batsmen. O'Dowd's mature innings played a pivotal role in securing the win and powering up the Netherlands' standing in Group D.

“I definitely wouldn’t say it was easy and a World Cup win is amazing, any World Cup win is great. And I think our bowlers bowled extremely well to restrict them to 106 but you see Nepal have so much fight and spirit that they managed to bring it down to what it was. I don't think it was ever a case of it being an easy win,” said the opening batter 

“Personally, I felt like I really had to think about what was best for the team in certain situations and you could see the pressure they were putting on, the way they field. I think they're one of the best fielding units in the world. So, they put a lot of pressure on us and definitely didn't make it easy. But I'm just happy that we managed to get over the line.”

He further added, "So, for us, I mean we needed six runs and over and I think we felt pretty comfortable going at six runs an over and then we knew that there would be an over or two where we could get a couple of boundaries. Probably we left it a little bit late, but a win’s a win.”

The Netherlands will face South Africa in their next match; currently, both South Africa and the Netherlands are at the top of the Group D table in the T20 World Cup 2024.