T20 World Cup: When Bas de Leede, for a moment, became Virat Kohli

Bas de Leede played a match-winning unbeaten 72 as the Netherlands defeated Namibia in the T20 World Cup. His powerful six and the team's extensive training in India highlight their growing competitiveness at the tournament.

In the fifth over of the Netherlands’ chase against Namibia, Bas de Leede had the crowd on its feet. He walked down the pitch and launched pacer Max Heingo for a six over long-on. The Arun Jaitley Stadium, sparsely populated on a workday afternoon — no more than 3,000 people — responded as if a hometown favourite had just cleared the ropes. For a fleeting moment, it felt like it was Virat Kohli who was batting on a Sunny Tuesday afternoon in Delhi.

There was a lot of Kohli in that shot from de Leede, reminiscent of the India batter’s now-famous hit off Haris Rauf. Much like Rauf that night, Heingo had done little wrong. He saw the batter advance, shortened his length, did what the coaching manuals suggest. And yet, through a mix of power, high elbow, exceptional reflexes, and something close to divine intervention, the ball disappeared. It was the kind of shot most batters don’t play even once in their careers.

#throwback> From another angle Virat Kohli turned Haris Rauf’s pace into pure history pic.twitter.com/OI28DKtBLF— Ro-Zone (@45x264) January 8, 2026

De Leede built his innings around that moment. He remained unbeaten on 72 off 48 balls, striking five fours and four sixes, as the Netherlands chased down 157 in just 18 overs. It was a controlled, assured knock — the kind that rarely makes headlines unless it is delivered by a star.

It is probably de Leede’s misfortune that his six will not circulate on social media the way Kohli’s did. There will be no slowed-down edits, no breathless commentary clips.

But when de Leede was asked about the comparison in the post-match press conference, his face lit up.