The Netherlands opened their Group A campaign with a solid performance at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday, posting a convincing 42-run victory over Canada.

Peter Borren elected to bat on winning the toss, and the initial tempo of the innings was brisk without ever threatening to overwhelm a steady Canadian attack.

Michael Swart fell in the second over, and Stephan Myburgh hit three boundaries before holing out to mid-on off the bowling of Rizwan Cheema.

This brought Tom Cooper and Alexei Kervezee together, and they added 33 for the third wicket, keeping the scoreboard moving, until Cooper tried to hit out at Harvir Singh Baidwan and was bowled for 29, made from 25 deliveries.

Kervezee continued, despite the loss of Wesley Barresi and Borren, the latter run-out for 11 in an unfortunate misunderstanding soon after surviving a tricky moment when Junaid Siddiqui claimed a low catch at point only to be denied by the umpires, and he reached 29, from 31 deliveries, before becoming Baidwan's third victim of the innings.

At this stage the Dutch were 103 for six, and with only 20 balls left they were in urgent need of some enterprise. This came once again from the bat of Mudassar Bukhari, who belted 28 from just 15 deliveries as he got his side up to a reasonably challenging 135 for six by the close.

It was, probably, just a little short of a par score, and the Canadians could take some satisfaction from that fact, which owed a good deal to the bowling of spinners Zahid Hussain and Junaid Siddiqui, the former conceding just 20 runs from his four overs, and to Baidwan's three for 29.

Hiral Patel and Ravindu Gunasekera began their chase confidently enough, but with the final ball of his second over, the fourth of the innings, Timm van der Gugten struck for the Dutch by bowling Gunasekera.

Van der Gugten was now replaced by Bukhari, who proceeded to remove Raza-ur-Rehman with his first delivery and skipper Rizwan Cheema with his third. And when, in the following over, Patel was run out by a smart piece of work from Stephan Myburgh, the Canadian innings was rocking on 26 for five.

Jimmy Hansra and Baidwan set about trying to turn things around, and their sixth-wicket partnership of 48 from 31 deliveries was the most productive of the match. The Dutch did not panic, however, and the required rate was still almost nine an over when Pieter Seelaar bowled Baidwan for a 14-ball 21.

Hansra fell to Ashan Malik Jamil in the following over, and the writing was on the wall at 82 for seven. Seelaar picked up two more wickets to finish with three for 16 and then Jamil finished the innings as Henry Osinde holed out to Cooper at long on with the total on 93.

It had been a decent start with both bat and ball, although there was clearly room for improvement in both departments, as coach Peter Drinnen and skipper Peter Borren were ready to acknowledge afterwards.

But it was a valuable workout for Wednesday's encounter with Afghanistan, which is likely to be a much tougher test for the Orange Lions. Afghanistan looked sharp in cruising to victory over Papua New Guinea on Tuesday, and these two sides may well be the two to watch in Group A as the tournament unfolds.