T20 World Cup: India beats Netherlands in 56-run sweep

Photo: ICC

Easy score: India 179-2 (Kori 62*, Rohit 53, Suryakumar 51*) beat the Netherlands 123-9 (Bubneshwar 2-9, Aksar 2-18) by 56 runs.

India beat the Netherlands by 56 runs to top Group A at the T20 World Cup in a stunning all-around display in front of 36,000 spectators at the famous Melbourne Cricket Ground.

After overcoming a slow start on a two-pace pitch, half-century mixed approaches from Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav took India ahead 179-2. Except for a cameo, the Dutch batsman did not appear and responded by just 123-9.

The Indian batsmen, who chose to bat first, struggled to put the Dutch bowlers away. Paul van Miekelen struck early to lap KL Rahul on the pads, but Sharma was let go by an expensive drop catch by Tim Pringle.

Once set, Sharma hit a 39-ball 53 and holed out to Colin Ackerman off of Fred Klaasen. His dismissal did not stop the runflow as Kohli and Yadav formed a 95-run partnership with the latter resulting in a 25-ball half-century. By contrast, Kohli struck calmly with 44 balls and 62. Despite the total, the Dutch bowlers remained grateful.

“I’m very proud of the way we’ve done it,” Van Miekellen said after the game. But I think every bowler was clear about what they wanted to do.

In response, the Dutch chase collapsed with regular wicket losses and, at 89-7, were in danger of being bowled out with double-digit scores were it not for a late flurry of borders by Shariz Ahmad and Van Meekeren. . Pringle he top scored with 20, but 6 off Ravichandran Ashwin stepped on the ground and swung on long on, giving the Dutch fans a moment of jubilation.

The match was the first-ever T20 between the two nations and their third meeting after their clashes at the 2003 and 2011 50 Over World Cups. At the post-match press conference, Van Meekeren offered tips for more professional Test nations to tour Holland to improve the quality of international cricket.

In the soon-to-be-discontinued ODI Super League, the Dutch rounded out a competitive home summer against the West Indies and Pakistan with several matches to prove the increasing depth of international cricket.

pay to train

“We have people in our locker room who pay to go to their training and only pay when we go on tour and play matches in Holland,” said Van Miekkelen, who said India said, pointing to the wide gap between Holland. Not only professionally in terms of exposure, but also financially.

“I hope this year will show how good wicket is in Holland. I think the practice wickets were outstanding going home.

“So there is no reason why the Test team cannot come to Holland instead of playing in the county. I hope I can walk around the city without it, the facilities are complete.

“We can be as competitive as playing a warm-up game against other counties. Why not come to Holland for 10 days before they travel to England?”