India scored 179 for 2 against the Netherlands in their T20 World Cup match here in Sydney. Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav and Rohit Sharma guided India to secure a top score. Though KL Rahul got out in the third over of the innings, the momentum of the game was kept alive by the top-order batsmen.
Opting to bat, India produced a solid batting display with Rohit Sharma (53), Virat Kohli (62 not out) and Suryakumar Yadav (51 not out) -- all scoring scintillating fifties.
The Netherlands bowlers did a reasonable job during the Powerplay when India scraped to 32 for 1.
India were 67 for 1 at the halfway stage but once Surya came in, the Netherland's bowling unit stumbled and Kohli's batting started putting pressure on the bowlers.
For Netherlands, Fred Klaassen (1/33) and Paul van Meekeren (1/32) took one wicket each.
India has won the toss and decided to bat first against the Netherlands in Sydney on Thursday.
After a breathtaking performance against Pakistan, the team seems to be confident in facing the Netherlands team. In a press conference on Wednesday, Skipper Rohit Sharma said that there were no changes made to the team after their last match against Pakistan.
This is the first time both teams are playing against each other in the T20 World Cup. The Netherlands had earlier played one match and is yet to earn a point.
Though apprehensions about the rain affecting the match existed, the latest update of Australia's Bureau of Meteorology, forecasted 'mostly clear' weather. During the early hours, the Meteorology predicted that 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 Bureau of Meteorology stated.
Teams
India: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik(w), Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami and Arshdeep Singh.
Netherlands: Scott Edwards(wk/c), Vikramjit Singh, Max ODowd, Bas de Leede, Colin Ackermann, Tom Cooper,Tim Pringle, Logan van Beek, Shariz Ahmad, Fred Klaassen and Paul van Meekeren.
(With inputs from PTI)
