Van der Gugten takes five as the Netherlands begin their chase of 245 against the UAE

Timm van der Gugten's five wickets held the United Arab Emirates to 244 for 8 before the Netherlands opened the final round of World Cup League 2 with a rapid stand in Dubai

The Netherlands reached 77 for 0 after nine overs at the ICC Academy on Sunday, leaving themselves 168 to get from 41 overs in the first match of the Dubai tri-series.

Rahul Chopra, the UAE captain, chose to bat and then held the innings together with 82 not out from 102 balls, but he found little company once van der Gugten began to take wickets.

The match opens the twenty-fourth and final round of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2, the competition that settles four of the places at next year's Global Qualifier.

Chopra carries the UAE innings

The UAE won the toss and batted, and Chopra's unbeaten 82 was the top score of an innings that never quite accelerated away from the Netherlands.

No partnership lasted long enough to change that. The UAE closed on 244 for 8 from their 50 overs, a total built around their captain rather than alongside him.

It leaves a side coached by Lalchand Rajput defending a score that looked competitive at the innings break and rather less so once the chase began.

A five-wicket return for van der Gugten

Van der Gugten finished with 5-39 from his ten overs, the standout spell of the innings and the reason the UAE total stopped short of 250.

The seamer has been a fixture of the Netherlands attack across this four-year League 2 cycle, and he kept the pressure on at both ends of the innings rather than in one burst.

Five of the eight UAE wickets to fall were his, and Bas de Leede's side were never asked to chase much beyond 250.

O'Dowd sets the chase alight

Max O'Dowd went after the target from the first over, reaching a fifty from 35 balls and taking the Netherlands past 75 inside the first ten overs without a wicket falling.

Cedric de Lange held up the other end while O'Dowd scored, and the opening pair were both unbeaten as the required rate fell to a little over four an over.

The Netherlands need 168 runs from 41 overs to win, a chase that is theirs to lose from here.

What the final round decides

The top four in League 2 qualify for the Global Qualifier in 2027, the next step on the path to the Men's Cricket World Cup, which will be played in three southern African countries in November 2027.

The United States have already clinched the League 2 title on 49 points from 36 matches, with Scotland second on 45 from 36 and the Netherlands third on 38 from 32. The Dutch place at the Global Qualifier is already assured.

Behind them the fourth place is still open. Oman sit fourth on 33 points from 30 matches, level on points with Namibia, who have played six more.

The UAE are eighth on 19 points from 32 matches and are playing for pride and for the shape of their side rather than for qualification.

Three teams, six matches in Dubai

The tri-series runs to 4 November and takes in six 50-over matches at the ICC Academy Oval 1, each starting at 9:30am local time.

The Netherlands meet Oman on 27 October, the UAE play Oman on 29 October, and these two sides meet again on 31 October before the schedule closes with two more fixtures in November.

Ashley Noffke, the Netherlands coach, said before the trip that "We are looking forward to the tournament in the UAE, where we will be focusing on our style of play", adding that the series would also give younger players time at international level.

For Oman, who are not involved on Sunday, the next ten days decide whether a four-year campaign ends with a qualifier or without one.

The Netherlands were 77 for 0 after nine overs in reply to the UAE's 244 for 8 when this report was filed.

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