T20 World Cup’22, IND vs NED: India 179 for 2 (Kohli 62*, Rohit 53, Suryakumar 51*) beat Netherlands 123 for 9 (Bhuvneshwar 2-9, Axar 2-18) by 56 runs

Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Suryakumar Yadav’s fifty-plus innings set the stage for India to defeat the Netherlands and rise to the top of Group 2 with a healthy increase in net run-rate. India put on a classic display of controlled dominance over Associate opposition by choosing to bat first on an SCG surface that was significantly slower than the one they played their tournament-opener on at the MCG. They posted a par-ish total and defended it ruthlessly.

The Netherlands never got into the game, chasing 180, and it looked like they might be bowled out for less than 100 for a while. Both the No. and that fate were spared.11 Paul van Meekeren scored 4, 4, 4 off Arshdeep Singh to end the innings and reduce their deficit, but it was still a resounding 56 runs.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep, Axar Patel, and R Ashwin each took two wickets, while Mohammed Shami took one. India’s five specialist bowlers shared the wickets.

HIGHLIGHTS

A costly non-review

The brand-new ball swung and occasionally hit the batter as well. Van Meekeren also picked up a well-earned early wicket after KL Rahul missed the flick off a late inswinger, and India scored just 11 runs in the first 2.4 overs of their innings.Despite Rohit’s apparent suggestion that the ball might have been swinging down the leg side, Rahul did not reconsider the decision; Rohit was ultimately proven wrong by ball-tracking.

Three approaches, three fifties

On this slow surface, Rohit struggled with fluency, but he kept pushing the limits. He survived a missed opportunity—Tim Pringle hit a sitter at mid-on with India on 13—and ended his innings with a control percentage of just under 59. However, he kept the scoreboard moving in the first 12 overs of India’s innings because he was prepared to look ugly. He hit 53 of 39 shots; The two batters at the other end, Rahul and Kohli, combined to score 28 runs off 31 while he was at the plate.

In the end, Kohli had a control percentage of 75.Kohli had a control percentage of 81 when Rohit was at the other end for the first 21 balls of his innings. He chose to trust in his ability to score quickly once set, in contrast to Rohit, and did not take risks early on. He did this, and in the last five overs, he found the boundary more frequently, scoring 30 runs off 14 balls after scoring 32 runs off 30 balls before that.

In the meantime, Suryakumar did something that only he and a few others in the world can do. In his first twelve balls at the crease, he shuffled in and out, used his wrists to whip and slice the ball into gaps, and found the boundary five times. A jaw-dropping effort on a sluggish pitch, but one that you might take for granted given how frequently he does these things, he hit seven fours and a flicked six off the final ball of the innings to finish unbeaten on 51 out of 25 balls.

India was successful in achieving their objectives on the day thanks to these three innings taken together. Suryakumar’s blistering start made it possible for Kohli to continue in that vein until the final five overs. The chances Rohit took early on came up frequently enough for Kohli to start conservatively.

India’s score of 179 was their lowest in a T20I innings in which they have lost only two wickets or less. Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik didn’t even bat, so it’s likely that India only wanted to make par against Associate opponents on a slow pitch.Against a stronger team, Kohli may have taken more risks early on.

Bhuvneshwar sets the tone for dominant bowling display

‘Max O’Dowd or bust’ has been a fair depiction of the Netherlands batting at this World Cup up to this point, and the early overs remained with that subject.In the second over, O’Dowd scored with two pleasing square drives off Arshdeep, but Bhuvneshwar went 2-2-0-1 and bowled with pinpoint accuracy to dismiss Vikramjit Singh, who was bowled swiping across the line.

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O’Dowd was forced to create boundaries while the rest of the top order struggled, and when he tried to do so, he was kicked out, exposing all of his stumps to Axar and missing a sweep.

After that, the Netherlands’ challenge vanished as Axar and Ashwin sped them up in the middle overs before the fast bowlers returned to tidy up the lower order. Arshdeep was expensive early on, but he came back to take two wickets in two balls, a nasty bouncer and an inch-perfect yorker. When he started the final over, he was on a hat-trick. However, by the end of that, van Meekeren had given Netherlands fans something to cheer about, and his figures had taken a beating.