BENGALURU: Rohit Sharma-led India will square off against Scott Edward’s Netherlands in the last group stage match of the tournament at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday.
In the upcoming match, the ‘Men in Blue’ will be eyeing to maintain their unbeaten streak in the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023 and will aim to win the prestigious tournament.
Hosts India have displayed a quality performance at the ongoing extravagant tournament and maintained their eight-game winning streak. India stands at the top of the ODI World Cup 2023 standings with 16 points. They have a net run rate of +2.456.
India started their campaign after defeating Australia. The ‘Men in Blue’ then went on to defeat Afghanistan, their arch-rival Pakistan, Bangladesh, New Zealand, England, Sri Lanka, and South Africa.
In their previous encounter against the Proteas, the ‘Men in Blue’ clinched a one-sided 243-run win at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Following Virat Kohli’s 49th century, and Shreyas Iyer’s 77-run knock, India set a target of 326 runs. In the second inning, Ravindra Jadeja bagged five wickets in his nine-over spell to help India dismiss South Africa at 83 runs. Mohammed Shami and Kuldeep Yadav also picked up two wickets against the Proteas.
On the other hand, the Netherlands stand at the bottom of the standings with four points. After playing eight matches, the Dutch side has managed to win only two games against South Africa and Bangladesh. Scott Edwards’ side will be looking to end their voyage on a high note after winning against the host.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, India head coach Rahul Dravid showered praise on Rohit Sharma and said that he has been a leader. Dravid added that the ‘Men in Blue’ skipper led by example both on and off the field.
“Rohit has certainly been a leader, you know, without a doubt. I think he’s led by example both on and off the field. Some of the starts that he’s given us and the way he’s cracked open games for us. A lot of times people have looked at one, I mean, I can’t go into the specific games, I’m sure that you will be able to look into it, but there have been some games where it could have been tricky for us, but the fact that he’s been able to get us to those kinds of starts has literally cracked open the game,” Dravid said.
Talking about the Netherlands, Dravid said that they have been very impressive in the tournament. He added that the effort that the Dutch side went through to be able to qualify for the semis was really appreciable.
Dravid further added that the performances of teams like the Netherlands certainly go a long way in boosting the morale of a lot of the other associate nations that they can certainly compete with.
“Yeah, very impressive. I think we’re very impressed with the way they have played in this tournament. The effort that they’ve gone through to be able to qualify I have some–I wouldn’t say first-hand experience — but I certainly know how difficult it is for associate teams to be able to reach this level and play. But certainly, I think the performances of teams like the Netherlands certainly go a long way in boosting the morale of a lot of the other associate nations that they can certainly compete and that they’ve got some very good players.
And it’s quite inspiring to see that in spite of the challenges that they do face, they’re able to compete at this level to play at this level,” he added.
India squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan, Prasidh Krishna, and Suryakumar Yadav.
Netherlands squad: Scott Edwards (C), Max O’Dowd, Bas de Leede, Vikram Singh, Teja Nidamanuru, Paul van Meekeren, Colin Ackermann, Roelof van der Merwe, Logan van Beek, Aryan Dutt, Ryan Klein, Wesley Barresi, Saqib Zulfiqar, Shariz Ahmad, Sybrand Engelbrecht. (ANI)