Hello and welcome to Sportstar’s LIVE Blog where we bring you all the latest match updates and the analysis as India takes on Netherlands in the Super 12 T20 World Cup match in Sydney.
Delayed Start: The toss between India and Netherlands might be delayed as South Africa and Bangladesh match was delayed due to rain. The good news for South African fans is the Proteas are en route to registering a massive win as Bangladesh imploded in a tall run chase of 206.
Paras Mhambrey, India Bowling coach: “Not just for us, I think the end overs have been a challenge for other teams as well. In the last game itself, people went for runs. We acknowledge that it’s going to be a challenging phase. Yes we have bowlers for it, we have prepared for it. For us, we have identified the bowlers who are going to be our specialists as well. Having said that, you have to be adaptable. You got to be able to have other options available, in case required. They might not be seam bowlers, they might be spinners. I think you are going to be put in those challenges, you are going to think differently at times. But we have those bowlers, we have our plans sorted.”
Focus on Openers: KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma will be eyeing to give India a good start and they have been pretty good with their aggressive approach as we saw in the home series against Australia and also in the Asia Cup. However, left-arm seamers seem to still bother Rohit, who has slightly changed his stance – a bit more open to counter the inswingers. Will be interesting to see how the India captain goes about his business. Rahul, meanwhile, would be itching to get runs under his belt.
Team India is in the house and this will be such an important match as Rohit Sharma’s men would like to maintain the momentum after registering a fantastic win against Pakistan.
Team India set for Sydney showdown
Crisp blue skies, bright sunshine, the odd cloud, rolling parks, golf courses and a metropolis caught between work and recreation were the early impressions as a taxi ferried some cricket writers to the Sydney Cricket Ground on Wednesday. The venue that blends old-world architecture like a red-brick clubhouse and a clock tower within a modern stadium offers enough hat-tips to a bygone era.
Inside the press-box, mounted bats embossed with the late Phillip Hughes image add a sombre touch to one wall. Richie Benaud’s pathos-infused tribute to the former Australian opener, is inscribed on one willow: “A boy, just beginning…25 years of age..baggy green number 408. His father’s best mate… son, brother, fighter, friend… inspiration. Phillip Hughes, forever rest in peace, son.”
In this sporting theatre rippling with memories and milestones, India will take on the Netherlands in the ICC Twenty20 World Cup Super 12 Group 2 match on Thursday. After the euphoric high of the last-ball four-wicket victory over Pakistan at Melbourne, Rohit Sharma’s men have to quickly get on with their campaign. The squad preferred to rest on match-eve while a few had optional training earlier on Tuesday. Calming the mind and resting the limbs are equally critical in a high-stakes championship involving contests, flights, varied grounds and different time-zones.
Virat Kohli’s reiteration that the fire still burns within him, may have been the biggest take-away from the previous encounter, but there were other little triumphs too for the coaching staff to savour. Seamer Arshdeep Singh’s wickets and Hardik Pandya’s all-round effort were all part of the winning mix against Pakistan. Still a few worries linger, especially with openers Rohit and K.L. Rahul remaining tentative. Perhaps the joust against Netherlands may help these batters find their groove.
The India versus Netherlands 2022 T20 World Cup game at the Sydney Cricket Ground could be a stop-start affair with possible rain spells forecast on Thursday.
According to the Bureau of Meteorology, there is a 40 per cent chance of rain, between 1 to 5mm. “Partly cloudy. Medium (40%) chance of showers, becoming less likely in the evening. The chance of a thunderstorm in the afternoon and early evening,” the Bureau of Meterology stated.
Semifinals and finals have a reserve day but group games don’t. The minimum number of overs required to constitute a match in T20 cricket is five overs per side. The standard Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method will be used in the event of any rain delays.
India vs Netherlands Dream11 prediction
IND VS NED DREAM11 FANTASY TEAM
Wicketkeeper: Scott Edwards
Batters: Suryakumar Yadav, Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli
All-rounders: Hardik Pandya, Colin Ackermann, Bas de Leede
Bowlers: Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Paul van Meekeren
Team Composition: IND 6:5 NED Credits Left: 7.0
India Predicted Playing XI: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin/Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh
Netherlands Predicted Playing XI: Vikramjit Singh, Max O’Dowd, Bas de Leede, Colin Ackermann, Tom Cooper, Scott Edwards (C & wk), Tim Pringle, Logan van Beek, Shariz Ahmed/Roelof van der Merve, Fred Klaassen, Paul van Meekeren
Virat Kohli’s unbeaten 82 in a T20 World Cup Super 12 match against Pakistan on Sunday made him the highest run-scorer in T20Is. Kohli tops the runs tally with 3794 runs in 110 matches at a strike rate of 138.41.
He has one hundred and 34 fifties so far. Out of the 3794, 927 runs have come in the T20 World Cup, the third-highest by a batter in the competition.
Kohli averages a jaw-dropping 518 in successful run chases at the T20 World Cup. He has seven fifties in nine successful run chases in the history of the T20 World Cup, and has been dismissed only once.
But India captain Rohit Sharma could leapfrog Kohli’s T20I career tally in the Super 12 match against Netherlands in Sydney on Thursday.
Rohit, who has 3741 runs in 143 matches, needs only 54 to go to the top of the list. Out of Rohit’s overall T20I run tally, 851 have come in the T20 World Cup.
SQUADS
India Squad: KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma(c), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Rishabh Pant, Deepak Hooda, Harshal Patel
Netherlands Squad: Vikramjit Singh, Max ODowd, Bas de Leede, Colin Ackermann, Tom Cooper, Scott Edwards(w/c), Tim Pringle, Logan van Beek, Shariz Ahmad, Fred Klaassen, Paul van Meekeren, Roelof van der Merwe, Timm van der Gugten, Stephan Myburgh, Teja Nidamanuru, Brandon Glover
