As the pursuit of semifinal places hots up, the Netherlands and Australia face off on Wednesday afternoon at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.
Australia, who began the tournament with two heavy defeats, are riding high on confidence following a comprehensive win against Pakistan. All eyes will be on the Australian openers as they take the field against the Dutch. David Warner and Mitch Marsh will once again be key to Australia’s success, given how they dismantled Pakistan’s pace battery. However, given the poor form of both Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne, the return of Travis Head is a possibility.
Despite their loss to Sri Lanka, the Netherlands remain optimistic, having consistently given their opposition a run for their money. The Netherlands will hope for a strong start from their openers, Vikramjit Singh and Max O’Dowd, who have struggled to push on, thus exposing the middle order early in the game.
The Dutch will also rely on their captain, Scott Edwards, and one of their best batsmen, Colin Ackermann, to handle the formidable Australian bowling attack. Adam Zampa’sleg-spin is likely to be the main threatin Delhi. Zampaovercame illness and various aches and pains to take consecutive four-wicket hauls, and will be high on confidence.
The Netherlands’ bowlers have acquitted themselves with credit in most games, and it could be Roelof van der Merwe, the South African-born veteran spinner, who is their most important asset on a slow Delhi pitch.
Given the traffic jam developing for fourth spot in the table, Australia will also surely have one eye on the net run rate. But after the shock the manner in which the Netherlands took down heavily fancied South Africa in Dharamsala, they certainly won’t be getting too far ahead of themselves.
Time and Venue Details
October 25, from 14:00 IST, Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi.
Expected Conditions
The pitch will be on the slower side andshould assist the spinners. The team winning the toss should look to bat first.
Possible XIs
Netherlands: Vikramjit Singh, Max O’Dowd, Colin Ackermann, Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Scott Edwards (c,wk), Saqib Zulfiqar, Roelof van der Merwe, Logan van Beek, Aryan Dutt, Paul van Meekeren.
Australia: David Warner, Mitch Marsh, Steve Smith, Josh Inglis, Travis Head, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey (wk), Adam Zampa, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood.
Interesting Match- ups
Aryan Dutt vs David Warner: Dutt has been taking the new ball for the Dutch and it will be interesting to see how David Warner goes about playing his off-spin early on in the innings.
Team Speaks
“I think the Netherlands have shown against South Africa what they’re capable of, and they have got some really good players in decent form as well. Even coming into the tournament, you don’t take anyone lightly. There’s a lot to be gained out of impressive performances against teams that you’re saying that we should beat. They are sitting in their camp saying we’ve got an opportunity to knock Australia over. We have got a few little moving parts.” –
Andrew McDonald, Australia coach.
“For us, beating South Africa was not an upset, it was just another game of cricket. We were a better team that day and you are going to see more of that. Australia are five-time champions, we have seen how they have played their cricket this year and in this tournament and for us, it is just another game of cricket to play.” – Vikramjit Singh, Netherlands’ opening batsman.