T20 World Cup 2022: The Dutch were outmatched on the field and in the stands by India, but came out smiling nonetheless

Tens of thousands of Indian fans, dressed in various iterations of their famous blue shirt, let out a cry in unison as their king, Virat Kohli, launches a six into the balmy night sky.

“Kohliiiiiii! Kohliiiiii!”

At the front of the MA Noble stand, three fans are attempting to make noise of their own. Proudly wearing Oranje shirts, Shane, Beau and Graham sing at the top of their lungs but are drowned out in a crowd mismatch every bit as stark as the one taking place out in the middle.

“I thought they were saying, ‘Holland!’” Shane jokes of the Indian fans. “So I was yelling, ‘Holland!’”

The official crowd figure at the SCG on Thursday night for the India-Netherlands clash was announced at 36,426. It’s reasonable to assume 36,423 of them were on hand to support India.

And then there was Shane, Beau and Graham.

The Dutch cheer squad, decked out in bright orange, stood out. It wasn’t like there was a Dutch supporter bay for them to join. Everywhere they looked, they were surrounded by blue. They wouldn’t have had it any other way.

“To be in among the Indian fans is phenomenal,” Shane says. “They’re the most passionate fans. If you’ve never been in the middle of it you have to do it once in your life.”

The trio feared a long night when India won the toss and elected to bat, well aware the likes of Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav were ready to inflict damage on the Dutch bowlers.

But, like their three-man supporter group, the Netherlands team performed admirably against impossible odds. They restricted India to 3-179, far beyond the expectations of most pundits.

“We’re actually pretty happy with this,” Graham says. “You see a dot ball and then a couple of wickets, it’s just good to see. We haven’t had the second innings yet but I’d consider that a good result.”

“I thought they’d get 200 on us,” Shane adds. “I’m taking the moral victory at less than 10 runs an over.”

This year marked the first time the Netherlands had qualified for the second stage of the T20 World Cup since 2014. Their qualification for the Super 12s is the latest positive result for a team growing in stature on the world stage.

“I remember watching along the day we beat England [in 2014],” Shane says of the nation’s most famous cricketing hour. “I think I watched that match four times.”

The importance of competing at the T20 World Cup cannot be overstated for the Netherlands. Back home, it’s a rare opportunity to compete for media airtime and column inches. And the opportunity to play India, perhaps the biggest sporting team in the world, provided the players with precious exposure to the game’s most elite level.

“The only way you can grow on the world stage sometimes is to come up against teams like India and Australia,” Shane says. “When we played Bangladesh it was the same thing.

“When Kohli is batting, you can’t do anything but just marvel at it. You’re here to enjoy that as well. To make the Super 12s, it was touch-and-go there for a little while. If Holland can keep doing it, it feels like they’re a team that is going to consistently make it.”

In the end, the Dutch fought bravely to eventually go down by 56-runs to India. But there was much to be proud of, as noted by Shane, Beau and Graham. They took to their feet when Tim Pringle hit a six off Ravichandran Ashwin; the Indian fans around them smiling, laughing appreciating the moment for what it was.

This tournament is the first time the Netherlands have played in Australia. The Dutch have only played the Aussies twice – at two ODI World Cups in 2003 and 2007. While fans are used to watching their football team dominate on the world stage, they’re hopeful the Oranje will be doing the same in cricket in the years to come.

And, if they’re lucky, more games at the SCG.