CWC 2023, India vs Netherlands: Shreyas Iyer's 128, KL Rahul's 102 and Mohammed Siraj's 2-29 are top performances. India beat Netherlands by 160 runs and stay at the top with 9 wins.
Brief Scores India 410/4 (Iyer 128*, Rahul 102, Rohit 61) beat Netherlands 250 (Engelbrecht 45, Nidamanuru 54, Siraj 2/29, by 160 runs.
Man of the match: Shreyas Iyer (128 off 94)
India maintained their unbeaten run in the CWC 2023 league stages as they won their 9th straight game. The men in blue defeated the Dutch side by 160 sides and more to the knockouts as the only unbeaten side.
The Netherlands took on the table toppers India in the last ICC World Cup 2023 league game at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. They have faced each other twice in World Cups (2003 and 2011), with India coming on top each time.
Both teams played with the same team, and Rohit Sharma opted to bat after winning the toss.
Talking Points from India vs Netherlands, Bengaluru game CWC 2023
Though it was an inconsequential game for India, they would be in the first semi-final against New Zealand regardless of the result. But this was the game where the Indian batters produced a complete performance.
All of their top 5 batters scored 50 plus, with Shreyas and Rahul converting it into a big one. This will give a huge boost to the team ahead of the New Zealand semi-final clash.
Read More: CWC 2023, IND vs SA: Kohli equals Sachin's 49 ODI centuries; India complete biggest win over SA
Indian batters make merry at Chinnaswamy
Batting first, Indian openers Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma gave the team a rollicking start, bringing up India’s 50 in 6 overs, and then 100 came up in only 70 balls. Soon, Gill fell after making a 31-ball 51, but Rohit again played with great before departing for 61 off 54.
Virat Kohli brought up his 7th fifty-plus score of this World Cup before getting out. Then it was all about the pair of KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer, as the duo addressed 208 runs for the 4th wicket and notched up their respective tons. India eventually made 410/4 in their quota of overs.
Chasing a daunting target, the Netherlands got off to a solid start as they became only the first to register 60 plus in the powerplays against India. They played the pacers well, but Netherlands’ progress was dented by the introduction of spin as the duo of Jadeja and Kuldeep picked a wicket each immediately. India bowled their part-timers as the game was always in their bag, and they eventually won by 160 runs.
Top 3 performances from the game between India and Netherlands
Shreyas Iyer notches up his maiden World Cup ton
India’s No.4 batter in this World Cup, Shreyas Iyer, has been in fine form after having made half-centuries in the last 2 games against Sri Lanka and South Africa. A century eluded him, and here in the team’s final group game against Netherlands, Iyer set things right.
India had a great start to the innings, and Iyer took it a notch higher as he dismantled the Netherlands attack with his range of big hits. He brought up his maiden World Cup ton in 84 balls and remained unbeaten on 128 with 5 sixes to his name.
Read More: CWC 2023, IND vs NZ: Shami takes fifer, Kohli scores 95 to execute another successful chase
KL Rahul smashes India’s fastest World Cup ton
KL Rahul was the 2nd player to score a century in this yet another memorable batting outing for India in this World Cup. This knock of 64-ball 102 was even more special because it was also India’s fastest-ever World Cup ton. He shared a splendid 208 stand for the 4th wicket along with Iyer, which was the main reason India accumulated 410 runs.
Mohammad Siraj bowled his best spell yet in this World Cup
On a belter of a track, Siraj found great rhythm as he was in his elements from the very first over. He first found the edge of opener Baressi in his initial spell and then went for full throttle with his yorkers in his 2nd spell, picking a wicket. He ended with figures of 2/29.
Statistical highlights from India vs Netherlands game
The fourth wicket stand of 208 runs between Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul is the highest for this wicket for India in ODI World Cups.
Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill registered their 5th century stand for the opening wicket 2023. This year, the most by any pair as Ibrahim Zadran & Rahmanullah Gurbaz have 4 and 3 by Dimuth Karunaratne & Pathum Nissanka.
The fastest ODI WC century by an Indian belongs to KL Rahul. He goes over Rohit’s 63-ball century against Afghanistan earlier in this World Cup.
410/4 is India’s second-highest ODI score in World Cups.
Rohit Sharma became the first Indian captain to score 500 runs in a World Cup edition and 2nd player after Sachin to score 500+ runs in an edition twice.
Rohit Sharma (59) breaks AB de Villiers’ record for most ODI 6s in a calendar year.
Virat Kohli has the joint most 50+ scores in a single World Cup at 7, alongside Sachin Tendulkar (2003) and Shakib Al Hasan (2019).
With 594 runs, Virat Kohli became the highest run-scorer this World Cup at the end of the league stages.
KL Rahul’s 102 is only 2nd century for India's designated wicket-keeper in World Cups after Rahul Dravid’s 145 vs Sri Lanka in Taunton, 1999.
With 16 wickets in the World Cup, Ravindra Jadeja becomes the highest wicket-taker by an Indian spinner in a single edition.
ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 Points Table
What to come and points table
India, with 9 successive wins in the league stages, will now face New Zealand in the first semi-final game on 15th November at Mumbai, Wankhede, while the Netherlands bowed out as the No.10 team, though they have played well in the tournament.