India beat the Netherlands by 56 runs at SCG in Sydney. It was a completely dominating performance with both bat and bowl by Rohit’s men who take top position in the Group 2 table wit 2 victories out of 2 matches.
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Here’s a quick form-check after the game:
K.L. Rahul 9(12)
K.L Rahul fell early again. His form has been hot and cold of late. After playing a few good innings before the World Cup and in the warm-up games building up to the tournament the opener seems to be out of touch both against Pakistan and Netherlands today.
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Rohit Sharma 53(39)
The skipper started a bit scratchy struggling for the timing initially but as his innings went on, his pull shots looked imperious as usual while his square driving looked silky smooth. The opener hit three mammoth sixes before getting dismissed by Fred Klaassen caught at the cover corner trying to hit his fourth six.
Virat Kohli 62(44)
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Virat Kohli took his time while Rohit was flying at the other end. The batter hit three boundaries and two massive sixes in his knock and held the innings together. He first built a 73-run partnership with Rohit and then added 95 runs with Surya Kumar Yadav. It’s his second 50 in back-to-back games of the tournament after his masterclass at MCG.
Surya Kumar Yadav 51(25)
The stylish batter completed his first World Cup 50 in record time. The stage was set for him by the likes of Rohit and Kohli and all he had to do is what he does best, which is take on the bowling. The batter reached 50 off the final ball of the innings with his trademark shot where he flicked a leg-stump full delivery to six.
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Axar Patel 2-18(4)
After getting smashed by Iftikhar Ahmed for 21 runs in an over at MCG, Axar had a good outing as he restricted the Netherlands from running away with the game. He cleaned up Max ODowd who looked dangerous at the start and later picked de Leede who was caught by Pandya.
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Ravichandran Ashwin 2-21(4)
The off-spinner had a good outing alongside his partner in crime Axar. Both the finger spinners broke the spine of the Netherlands batting order. The veteran spinner picked up the experienced Tom Cooper and in-form batter Ackerman. The spinners went for 39 runs in their eight overs and picked up four wickets.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar 2-9(3)
The 32-year-old had a brilliant outing with the ball and picked up two wickets in his three overs. He started with two back-to-back maidens to become only the fourth bowler in the history of T20I cricket to achieve that feat. The right-arm seamer, after having a poor few months prior to the World Cup, seems to be getting back into his groove in the tournament.
Arshdeep Singh 2-37(4)
The left arm pacer had a hot and cold day. After having a brilliant day out against the arch-rivals Pakistan, the Punjab bowler looked a little flat today. However, right at death, he managed to pick up a couple of wickets but conceded the most expensive over of the innings after giving away 14 runs in the 20th over.
Mohammed Shami 1-27(4)
Similar to Arshdeep, Shami had a quiet day. He picked Tom Pringle in his third over of the spell and conceded 27 in 4 overs. The right arm pacer seems to be in good rhythm from his comeback into the T20I side. His yorker seems to be lethal.
