The Indian campaign in this World Cup has been characterised by a certain relentlessness. They have kept going at the opposition, whoever that may be, with all that they have, match after match. There was no let-up in that and no changes in the XI despite this being a low-pressure game. The Netherlands suffered a 160-run defeat as a result.
India’s ninth consecutive win was highlighted by a superlative performance with the bat. The top five scored in excess of 50, with Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul smashing centuries. The innings started with a flurry of shots. The aggressive intent remained intact throughout and there was an explosion towards the end, which helped India notch up their second-highest World Cup total of 410 for four. The best remains 413 for five against Bermuda in 2007.
The batting show against this hapless Dutch side was one of complete command and it ended the match as a contest before the visiting team started to bat. It followed the familiar template of Rohit Sharma attacking the bowlers from the beginning. On this day, Shubman Gill matched him stroke for stroke and when he fell for a 32-ball 51, the total was already 100 in just the 12th over.
Rohit may be disappointed that he got out after making 61 off 54 balls without being able to carry on and get a bigger score. But the captain had no reason to feel bad about the way his teammates went about their job. Virat Kohli was not as fluent as he had been in the previous games but compiled a 54-ball 51. He is not only the highest scorer of this edition with 594 runs so far, but also the third-highest aggregator of runs in the history of World Cups, behind Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting.
The biggest satisfaction from the Indian team’s point of view was perhaps the dominant roles played by Iyer and Rahul. The No. 4 is supposed to be the pillar of a team’s batting line-up. Iyer had come good in the last two games after an indifferent start and against the relatively inexperienced Dutch attack, he was merciless. There were shots all around the wicket, including some towering straight hits, and this unbeaten 94-ball 128 should further boost his confidence before the semi-final.
On the other hand, Rahul demonstrated what kind of a menace he can be for the bowlers. Not often does a batter score a century in a 50-over game after coming in to bat in the 29th over. Playing at his home ground, India’s wicketkeeper-batter unfurled a flurry of delectable and thunderous shots. He is pleasing to the eye when in flow and at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Rahul showed his destructive side. The 64-ball 102 was a visual treat as well as a furious effort.
The only blip for India was the blow in the throat suffered by Mohammed Siraj after he dropped a catch. He went off the field and the physio immediately attended to him, although he came back, took a second wicket and dropped another catch. His temporary absence led to the team using irregular bowlers and in the process, Kohli picked up his first ODI wicket since 2014.
The outcome was never in doubt after this kind of a batting effort, although the Netherlands did not surrender meekly. It was not the best of days for the Indian bowlers, who have been hunting as a pack in this tournament. There was some dip in intensity because of the giant total the batters had put up. Despite that, New Zealand should be very wary of this Indian team they will face in a repeat of the 2019 semi-final.