BENGALURU (Agencies): Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul’s blistering centuries, paired up with a disciplined bowling show powered India to a thumping 160-run victory over the Netherlands in the 45th ICC World Cup 2023 match at M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Set to chase a daunting 4110-run target, the Netherlands put up a decent fight with the bat but still fell 160 runs short. Middle-order batter Teja Nidamanuru spearheaded the Netherlands’ fightback with a brisk half-century but his efforts were not enough to propel his side to the favourites. He top-scored for the Netherlands with a 39-ball 54, laced with one boundary and six sixes.
Opener Max O’Dowd (30), Colin Ackermann (35) and Sybrand Engelbrecht (45) were the other notable run-getters for the Netherlands while the rest of their batters failed against a relatively easy-going Indian bowling attack. Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja bagged two wickets each for India while Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma made one scalp each.
This is India’s fourth-highest ODI total and second-highest total in the ODI World Cup. Indian captain Rohit Sharma scripted a flying start for his team after winning the toss as he along with Shubman Gill raised 100 runs for the first wicket inside 12 overs. Shubman Gill scored a quick 32-ball 51, featuring 3 fours and 4 sixes before Teja Nidamanuru gifted his wicket to Paul van Meekeren. Rohit Sharma soon followed him after scoring 61 runs off 54 balls, with the help of 8 fours and 2 sixes.
Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer then knitted a 71-run partnership for the third wicket, with the former reaching his 70th ODI half-century before Roelof van der Merwe bowled him, extending the wait for his 50th ODI hundred.
With the scoreboard reading 200, Iyer was joined by KL Rahul and they wreaked havoc on the Netherlands’ bowlers as they scored 208 runs from 128 balls for the fourth wicket, with both batters scoring centuries and lifting India’s total beyond the 400-run landmark. KL Rahul completed his hundred in 62 balls, meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer reached the landmark in 84 balls. Rahul got out on the penultimate ball of the innings, scoring 102 runs off 64 balls, featuring 11 fours and 4 sixes.
Suryakumar Yadav took the strike on the final ball of the innings and added two runs as the Indian innings ended at 410-4 from their allocated 50 overs. Iyer remained unbeaten at 128 off 94 balls with the help of 10 fours and 5 sixes. Bas de Leede picked two wickets for the Netherlands, while Roelof van der Merwe and Paul van Meekeren picked one wicket each.
SCORES IN BRIEF
INDIA 410-4 (Shreyas 128*, Rahul 102, Rohit 61, Kohli 51, Gill 51) beat NETHERLANDS 250 (Nidamanuru 54, Engelbrecht 45, Siraj 2-29, Bumrah 2-33) by 160 runs.
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