Logan van Beek became a hero to Dutch cricket after his sensational performance in the qualifier for the ODI World Cup three years ago, single handedly beating the West Indies with a record breaking Super Over as his team reached the 50 over format's showpiece event.
Sportspeople know all to well that they can't always be a hero though, and Van Beek certainly discovered that today after a nightmare 19th over from the Dutch all-rounder cost them another famous upset at the T20 World Cup.
Van Beek was out for a duck when the Dutch batted, put in after Salman Agha won the toss. The only scores of note in their innings were 30 by Bas de Leede and captain Scott Edwards' knock of 37 in their total of 147.
The Dutch celebrate a wicket
Pakistan started their run chase well enough with Sahibzada Farhan's 47 taking them to a very comfortable 98-2 at the conclusion of the 11th over. But there was a flurry of wickets as Pakistan collapsed to 114-7 over the next five overs, putting the Dutch firmly on top.
Then came the 19th over.
With Pakistan needing 29 runs from the final two overs, van Beek bowled it, and promptly went for six from the first ball. Max O'Dowd dropped a catch from the next ball, from which two were scored. Faheem Ashraf then smashed a six right over the sightscreen from the next ball, before van Beek finally got his line and length right from the fourth ball, which was a dot.
That was a false hope though, as Ashraf hit the next two balls for six and four to finish with 24 runs from the over. A single from the first ball of the last over got him back on strike and he hit a four from the third ball to secure a three wicket win that seemed so unlikely just ten minutes earlier.
The ICC are unlikely to be happy with the result - a Pakistan defeat might have caused them to reconsider their decision not to play against India next weekend. Before then though they will take on the team that knocked them out at this stage in 2024 - USA - on Tuesday. The Dutch will also be in action on that day, playing Namibia.
