New Delhi, India
Team India started their T20 World Cup 2022 edition with a memorable win over arch-rivals Pakistan at the iconic MCG, Melbourne on Sunday (October 23). Having won the toss and opting to bowl first, India rode on three-fers from Arshdeep Singh and all-rounder Hardik Pandya to restrict Pakistan to 159 for 8.
In reply, India were tottering at 31 for 4, losing their skipper Rohit Sharma (4) and vice-captain KL Rahul for cheap. However, Virat Kohli produced a masterclass, 82 not out off 53 balls, and was well-supported by Hardik (40) to take India past the finish line courtesy of a four from R Ashwin's blade on the last ball of the contest. Now, the action shifts to the Netherlands face-off as India will aim to keep their winning streak alive.
India will take on the Dutch line-up, at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), Sydney. This will be the first face-off between both sides in the format. So far, India have faced Netherlands twice in ODI World Cup -- in 2003 and 2011. Hence, a new challenge will be infront of the Indian team when they take the field versus the Netherlands line-up.
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Given Ireland stunned 2010 winners England on Wednesday (October 26), India won't take the Netherlands lightly. With no experience of playing them whatsoever in the format, India will start cautiously before trying to explode. As per the conditions, a used pitch will be on offer for the India-Dutch encounter, given it is the second encounter of the day (after South Africa vs Bangladesh). A similar sort of pitch can be expected, as it was in the Super 12 opener featuring Australia and New Zealand, but with lesser bounce. Thus, slower bowlers can come to play. Toss will be crucial and the captains can look to bat first, on a surface which might get slower. However, with rain forecast, bowling first is also an option.
Predicting India's XI for the Netherlands face-off: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh