Stokes' maiden World Cup century lifts England to solid win over the Dutch

ICC World Cup 2023 Ben Stokes attacking century was well complemented by bowlers as England cantered to a lopsided 160run win over the Netherlands on Wednesday to stay in reckoning for the 2025 Champions TrophyThough England and Netherlands are out of reckoning for the semifinals the contest between the two lowestplaced sides gain significance when it comes to qualifying for the Champions Trophy as only the top seven teams from the ongoing showpiece will qualify for the eventEnglands batting finally clicked as they posted 339 for 9 and then the bowlers did the rest dismissing Netherlands for 179 in 372 oversThe win took England to the seventh spot in the points table on account of better run rate The defending champions will take on Pakistan in their last match in Kolkata on SaturdayOpting to bat Stokes 108 off 83 initially provided the stability in the middle before opening up towards the end while David Malan 87 off 74 got England off to a flier with his breezy knock during which he hit 10 fours and two sixes to power England to 339 for nineStokes struck six fours and as many hits over the fence while Chris Woakes too did his bit with a 45ball 51Chasing a huge target of 340 Netherlands lost their first wicket in the fifth over when Max ODowd gave a simple catch to Moeen Ali at midon off the bowling of Chris WoakesIn the next over Netherlands were two down when Colin Ackermann nicked a David Willey delivery to Jos Buttler behind the stumpsWesley Barresi 37 and Sybrand Engelbrecht 33 tried their best to stabilise the chase with a 55run stand for the third wicket before Baressi was run outEngelbrecht was then holed out by Woakes at midon to hand Willey his second wicket of the day while Bas de Leede played on an Adil Rashid deliveryWilley dropped Teja Nidamanuru 41 not out off 34 at midon off Atkinson in 27th over and the batter grabbed the life with both hands clobbering Adil Rashid and Atkinson for two huge sixes over midon and squareleg boundary in consecutive oversNetherlands skipper Scott Edwards and Nidamanuru then shared 59 runs for the sixth wicket before the former gave a simple catch to Willey at midoff of Alis bowlingThereafter Netherlands wickets fell like nine pins as they were bowled out for 179 in 372 oversAlso ReadBruised but not batteredEarlier Malan looked at his attacking best as he flicked and drove Logan van Beek for three consecutive boundaries in the second over He continued his onslaught against spinner Aryan Dutt 267 sending him through the covers and gully for two more boundaries in the next overBoundaries came thick and fast for England as the next over from Logan Van Beek also witnessed two hits to the fence one each from Malan and Jonny BairstowLater Malan and Joe Root played cautiously to take the innings forward before the former hit the first six of the innings clobbering Roelof van der Merwe over square leg boundaryAn over later Malan once again launched another attack on van der Merwe dispatching him over midwicket boundaryBut two wickets in consecutive overs halted Englands chargeFirst Root was cleaned up by van Beek in the 21st over as the batter went for a reverse scoop and then Malan was run out in the next over with England slumping to 139 for three in 22 oversHarry Brook didnt last long as he pulled a short delivery from Bas de Leede 374 to Colin Ackermann at deep squareleg as Netherlands pulled things backEngland skipper Jos Buttlers torrid time continued as he was holed out at midoff by Teja Nidamanuru off van Meekeren soonAlso ReadOne step behindBut Stokes was in ominous form as he first took time to settle down and then unleashed his brute power towards the end to hammer the Dutch bowlers to all parts of the groundDutch spinners pulled things back in the middle overs as from 133 for two England slumped to 192 for six by the 36th over after the dismissal of Moeen AliBut Stokes and Woakes had other plans as they shared 129 runs for the seventh wicket to take England past the 300run markWith inputs from agencies