Netherlands off-spinner Aryan Dutt was part of the playing XI that recorded a historic victory over South Africa in their World Cup 2023 encounter on Tuesday at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala.
Aryan Dutt played a crucial role in his side’s memorable win over Temba Bavuma’s team. First he scored 23* runs in only 9 balls toward the end of their innings, cracking 3 sixes that propelled their score to 245 in the 43-over per innings contest.
Then, Aryan Dutt was given the new ball to target left-handed South Africa opener Quinton de Kock. Dutt bowled brilliantly: he bowled 5 overs, conceding only 19 runs and one maiden despite the fielding restrictions.
What Dutt’s tight bowling from one end did helped another off-spinner, Colin Ackermann, get Quinton de Kock’s wicket. South Africa were pushed back at that point, and it was Aryan Dutt’s sensational hitting and his tidy bowling that played a part in the Netherlands getting momentum in the game.
From thereon, Netherlands barely made a mistake – barring a dropped catch from Bas de Leede, which was then made up for – and proceeded to record a memorable victory. This was South Africa’s first loss to an Associate Nation in the men’s ODI World Cup. And this is Netherlands’ only third win in 23 matches at the men’s ODI World Cup.
Former Rajasthan Royals player Amit Uniyal is the coach of Aryan Dutt
One interesting bit about Aryan Dutt that has been learned recently is that former Rajasthan Royals all-rounder Amit Uniyal is his friend and coach.
Both Amit Uniyal, who played for RR in IPL 2010, and Aryan hail from Chandigarh. Between 2013 to 2019, Aryan used to train under Amit for six months every year. Uniyal first went to the Netherlands in 2012 to play club cricket where he met Aryan’s father.
From next year on, Aryan, and opener Vikramjit Singh, began to train under Amit Uniyal’s guidance. In recent years, even though Aryan couldn’t meet Amit regularly, the duo remained in touch. Amit was invited by Aryan’s father to watch the South Africa vs Netherlands game in Dharamsala and they got to witness the biggest win in the Netherlands’ history.
Amit Uniyal said, ”When Aryan started his training under me in 2013, he was a child, but now his shoe size has also become 12. He has had the desire to learn since the beginning.”
