Tom Cooper took two wickets in a space of four balls before smashing an unbeaten 34 as Netherlands began their ICC World Twenty20 qualifying campaign with a comfortable six-wicket win over United Arab Emirates in a Group B match in Sylhet on Monday.
Chasing 152 to win, the Dutch team overhauled the target with seven balls to spare after openers Stephan Muburgh (55) and Michale Swart (26) set up the victory with a quick fire 69-run stand in just 6.4 overs.
After their dismissal, Wesley Barresi (24) and Cooper carried forward the good work as they consolidated their team's position with a 36-run stand for the third wicket.
Barresi was bowled by left-arm spinner Shahdeep Silva (2/19) but Cooper took the side home in company of Ben Cooper.
Left-handed opener Muburgh played some breathtaking shots, specially the powerful pulls, in his 36-ball knock which was studded with seven fours and two sixes.
Tom Cooper kept his nerves to steer his side home as he faced 26 balls and hit five boundaries, including a six.
UAE side paid the price for sloppy fielding as they missed a a few catches and run out chances.
Earlier, Tom Cooper struck twice in the 11th over before medium pacer Ahsan Malik ran through the lower-order as Netherlands shot out debutants UAE for 151 in 19.5 overs.
UAE got off to a poor start, losing their openers Amjad Ali (5) and Faizan Asif (6) with just 12 runs on the board.
Skipper Khurram Khan (31) and Swapnil Patil (23) resurrected the innings with an attacking 67-run partnership for the third wicket. However, both were dismissed by Cooper in the 11th over, reducing the UAE to 81 for four.
Cooper first dismissed Patel and then accounted for Khan to derail UAE's charge on a good batting surface.
Shaiman Anwar (32) and Rohan Mustafa (20) again raised hopes of a competitive total with their 47-run stand for the fifth wicket. But both the batsmen were dismissed inside three deliveries to leave their team struggling at 131 for 6.
Anwar hit four boundaries and a six over the extra cover region in his 19-ball stay at the crease.
UAE could not recover from the two jolts and lost their last four wickets for the addition of 19 runs.
Malik snared up Amjad Javed (2), Vikrant Shetty (10) and Kamran Shazad (0) in quick succession to put an end to UAE's innings.
Image: Tom Cooper
Photograph: Matthew Lewis/Getty Images
