ODI World Cup 2023: India vs Netherlands, Match 45 - Top player battles to watch out for

In the final league-round match of the Cricket World Cup 2023, India and the Netherlands will play each other at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. The Men in Blue have been unbeaten so far and they will look to be relentless against the Dutch side in their final league contest in Bengaluru.

On the other side, the Orange Army’s endeavours will be to play attacking cricket against the hosts to conclude their campaign on a positive note. In the game between the heavyweights and minnows, some amazing contests between players from both sides can be seen by cricket supporters.

Here are three player battles to watch out for in the India vs Netherlands contest:

3. Shreyas Iyer versus Aryan Dutt

Shreyas Iyer has looked decent for Team India in this World Cup. As a middle-order batter, he has scored 293 runs with three fifties in eight innings. Shreyas plays spinners excellently and in the upcoming game, he might face a stiff challenge from Aryan Dutt, who has exuded confidence for the Dutch team. The off-break bowler has picked up 10 wickets in eight matches at an economy of 5.30.

2. Rohit Sharma versus Roelof van der Merwe

Rohit Sharma is leading India from the front in this tournament. Playing eight matches, he has accumulated 442 runs with two fifties and a ton. The India skipper will be expected to play a huge knock against the Dutch team and if it happens, he might confront experienced Roelof van der Merwe, who can trouble him with slow left-arm bowling. The 38-year-old Dutch stalwart has got five wickets in seven innings at an economy of 5.60.

Also Check: List of Rohit Sharma international & IPL centuries

1. Virat Kohli vs Logan van Beek

Virat Kohli will be expected to hit his 50th One-Day International (ODI) century against the Netherlands at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium and shatter the Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar’s record of the most ODI centuries. The batting maestro has played a lot of cricket at this stadium and the Bengaluru crowd will want their star player to reach the milestone in their backyard.

Ahead of the clash, the Dutch pacer Logan van Beek had a conversation with CricTracker and revealed a hilarious plan to dismiss the India legend. 

‘When I’m going to bowl to Virat Kohli, I’m going to bowl outswingers on my first two balls. After that, I’m going to bowl a slower ball, off-cutter slower ball, he’s going to hit me for a four. I’m going to walk back and pretend to be annoyed and will stop the game for about five minutes. I will get the captain to come up and we’re going to pretend to talk and I will point in a general direction pretending to say I’m gonna bowl that way. But I’m not gonna bowl that way so I’m fooling him.”

He also added “Ball number four I will bowl a nice half volley and he will hit me four a four. The crowd will go wild, he puffs his chest up, and he thinks he’s the greatest of all time which he probably is. But now I’ve got him exactly where I want him. So, he’s confident, so I get to the top of my mark and it's the fifth ball, I only need five balls. I get to the mark and pray to the Gods, the cricketing gods, and say ‘I will do anything for you in this moment but please let me get Virat Kohli out right now’. The next ball I come running in with my eyes closed and bowl and he’s out.”

Van Beek has grabbed 12 wickets in seven games in this tournament at an economy of 6.06. In his team’s famous 38-run win over South Africa, the 33-year-old contributed three wickets with the ball in his 8.5-over spell.

Also Check: List of Virat Kohli international & IPL centuries