ODI World Cup 2023: India vs Netherlands, 45th ODI - Who Said What?

In the last league match of the ongoing ODI World Cup, India locked horns with the Netherlands at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday, November 12. The day also marked the festival of Diwali in this part of the world, as the Indian batters truly lit up the game with their power-hitting.

The Men in Blue batted first to post their second-highest total in World Cup history, aggregating 410/4 at the end of 50 overs. Another record-breaking milestone was achieved, as Rohit Sharma & Co. became just the second team, wherein the top five batters scored 50+ each. This made the job easier for the bowlers while defending under the lights.

India’s top-order shines 

Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill gave a perfect headstart in Bengaluru’s batting paradise. Skipper Rohit hit 61 runs off 54 balls, while Gill managed to score 51 runs off 32 balls. Ace batter Virat Kohli (51 off 56 balls) joined the skipper after Gill’s departure and went on to hit his 71st half-century in ODI cricket. India were 200 for 3 after he departed.

The Iyer-Rahul duo 

Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul powered the hosts to a staggering total with a 208-run partnership. Both Rahul and Iyer scored their respective tons to make the job easier for the bowlers in the second innings. While Iyer remained unbeaten on 128 off just 94 balls, his partner-in-crime made the fastest hundred (102 off 64 balls) by an Indian in the tournament’s history reaching the landmark in a mere 62 balls.

Part-time bowlers entertain India on Diwali

After a decent start with the ball, skipper Rohit Sharma decided to experiment with the bowling unit. Virat Kohli was handed the ball and he eventually went on to pick up the important wicket of Scott Edwards. Later, Shubman Gill and Suryakumar Yadav were tried in the middle as both of them did reasonably well. Interestingly, Rohit himself came up to bowl at the fag end of the match after the crowd cheered for him to bowl. He went on to pick up the final wicket as India won the match by 160 runs and with that, the team won their ninth straight match in the ongoing ODI World Cup.

Losing skipper Scott Edwards said:

We played two games of cricket, gave ourselves opportunities in other games which we'd have liked to win. Little bit tricky to say where we were compared to where we wanted to be. We were pretty confident with the style we play. We knew it's going to be a tough tournament. We've got a lot to learn, lot to get better before the T20 tournament next year. They showed pure class with the bat. There were periods where we bowled well, they just soaked up the pressure. They are going to be an extremely hard side to beat in this World Cup. We are a very young side, lot of young guys in the set-up, it is about growth for us. In terms of fixtures, not sure.

Winning skipper Rohit Sharma said:

Since we started the tournament, for us, it was all about thinking about one game at a time. We never wanted to look too far ahead because it's a long tournament. It was important to focus on one game. Different venues and we had to adapt, that's exactly what we did. Very pleased with how we have played in these nine games. Very clinical from game one till today. That's because different individuals have stepped up at different times. That's a good sign for the team. We know the conditions, but when you play different opponents, that's a different challenge. We adapted really well., We started four games in a row and then we had to bat first, seamers did the rest along with the spinners. It's important, results do matter to keep the dressing room environment lively. There's going to be a lot of expectations, we wanted to keep everything aside and focus on the job at hand. We wanted to play the game on the field with a lot of fun and that reflected on our performances.

POTM Shreyas Iyer said:

I got a deja vu, this happened with Australia too, but I threw my wicket away (not today though), but I wanted to come not out this time. I took pills for the cramps. I feel the recent scores helped me in this innings. The wicket was tacky and two-paced, I just wanted to capitalize on the start and I was able to do that. I have worked a lot on that (straight) shot, I was just trying to hit it straight. It's about keeping the head straight and about the followthrough of the bat once I am trying to play the slog shot.