Battle of big-hitters at Eden Gardens

Kevin O’Brien and Ryan ten Doeschate get their last chance to repeat their big-hitting shows.

KOLKATA:

Irish batsman Kevin O’Brien and Dutch counterpart Ryan ten Doeschate get their last chance to repeat their big-hitting shows when their teams clash in their final World Cup match today.

Both teams are out of contention for a place in the quarter-finals, with Ireland having secured just two points and the Dutch yet to open their account after five matches.

But the spotlight at Eden Gardens will be on O’Brien and ten Doeschate, who have already hammered rapidfire centuries against England.

Ireland, who go into the match as favourites after emerging the most impressive of non-Test-playing nations, owed their three-wicket victory over England to O’Brien.

The middle-order batsman smashed the fastest World Cup hundred off just 50 balls to help his side achieve a stiff 328-run target.

More important than the runs were the circumstances in which they came.

Ten Doeschate also enjoyed his most memorable moment in One-Day Internationals (ODI) against England, cracking a 110-ball 119 to help his side set a challenging 293-run target.

England won the match in Nagpur but ten Doeschate won the man-of-the-match award for his all-round show as he also claimed two wickets.

“It was pretty special for me. Personally, it is about as close to a perfect innings as I want to play in ODIs,” South Africa-born ten Doeschate said.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 18^th, 2011.