Two out of two is as good a start as the Blue fans would have hoped for. Crucially, India are topping the group table (early days yet) and their net run rate has also improved (1.425 from 0.50) after the win against the Netherlands in Sydney on Thursday. This was supposed to be an easy outing and it turned out to be one after a bit of early struggle with the bat. Actually, these games are not as easy as they seem (ask England). Like penalties in football, converting them does not warrant bouquets, while failure is certain to invite brickbats. A recap of the highlights of the match...
Difference in building innings
India moved to 67/1 after 10 overs thanks mainly to skipper Rohit Sharma’s willingness to force the pace and 114/2 after 15 Cameron Spencer/Getty Images
After six overs of powerplay when two fielders are allowed outside the 30-yard circle, the difference between the teams was not telling. India were 32/1 and the Netherlands 27/2. But that’s when it started changing. India accelerated consistently in the remaining overs, while the Netherlands were forced into a shell. India moved to 67/1 after 10 overs thanks mainly to skipper Rohit Sharma’s willingness to force the pace and 114/2 after 15. There were as many as seven overs in the last 10 which yielded 10 runs or more. The Indians hit 12 fours and three sixes off the last 60 deliveries that fetched 112 runs. In comparison, the Dutch had two overs that produced runs in double digits — the second and 20th. The entire innings contained 10 fours and a six. They limped to 51/3 after 10 overs and 81/5 after 15. The experience, calibre, acumen and resources required to make such a big difference as the innings progressed was too overpowering in favour of India.
The Kohli tale
This is beginning to be one memorable comeback saga (fingers crossed). Virat Kohli once again anchored the Indian innings and saw through the period when the going was not great. Unlike the previous outing against Pakistan where he was scratching around at the start, the former captain was middling the ball from the beginning. Yet, the placement was not there. It took him 22 deliveries to hit a boundary. But in any format of cricket, experience matters. So do the tried and tested methods of pulling things off. Kohli reached 50 off 37 balls with three fours and a six. He was quick to notice the kind of touch Suryakumar Yadav was in and happy to rotate strike towards the end. It was not one of Kohli’s most sparkling knocks, but valuable, considering the stage. It was his third 50-plus effort in the last five T20Is (49* and 3 being the other two).
SKY has no limits
With Suryakumar Yadav around, there is no searching for balls in the initial stage, no pottering around and no time taken to come to terms with the pace and bounce of the pitch Cameron Spencer/Getty Images
The Indian team is fortunate to have Suryakumar Yadav in the form and touch of his life (anyone’s life, for that matter) in a tournament like the T20 World Cup. Not only does he have this ability to place the ball into gaps, he hardly takes any time to settle down. With SKY around, there is no searching for balls in the initial stage, no pottering around and no time taken to come to terms with the pace and bounce of the pitch. He starts middling it from the first ball, almost every time. Thursday was no different. The third one he faced was creamed for four and there were three more hits to the fence by the time he had faced 10 deliveries. Remarkably, he kept finding the gaps through the inner ring of fielders on the off side when the Netherlands had fielders patrolling the fence on the leg. This was the impetus India needed and largely due to his enterprise, the team plundered 65 runs from the last five overs. The last-ball six to bring up his 50 was the icing on the cake.
Bhuvi leads bowling charge
The ball swings more than others when Bhuvneshwar Kumar is at work and it was the turn of the Dutch to discover that Cameron Spencer/Getty Images
In T20 cricket, one maiden over is considered more precious than gold and here was one who bowled two first up! There were question marks over Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s performance at the death heading into this World Cup but he has silenced the naysayers with his showing. The ball swings more than others when he is at work and it was the turn of the Dutch to discover that. Two overs of supreme control, late movement and the perfect length, the bowler from Uttar Pradesh was on song. It was beautiful to watch the ball beat the bat with intelligent variations in angle (if you are an India fan of course) and batsmen struggling to put willow to leather in a phase of the innings designed for big hitting.
Spinners stage comeback
Axar Patel celebrates dismissing Max O’Dowd Cameron Spencer/Getty Images
Indian spinners R. Ashwin and Axar Patel were pretty much the villains of the tale in the previous game against Pakistan. In four overs between them, the two had gone for 44 runs without a wicket. Against the Dutch, the spinners played a big role in containing as well as taking wickets. Ashwin used his variations to good effect to return figures of 2/21 from four overs. Bowling stump to stump from a predominantly flat trajectory like he usually does, Patel took 2/18 from his four. If not anything else, this should give them confidence in the matches coming up. In comparison, the Netherlands conceded 0/35 from five overs of spin.
Off the field: Potter-Pringle cross!!!
Tim Pringle of the Netherlands in action Cameron Spencer/Getty Images
This was former England skipper Michael Atherton from the commentary box. The camera focussed on Dutch left-arm spinner Tim Pringle. With spectacles, he cuts an odd figure alright. Atherton quipped: “Someone said he is a cross between Harry Potter and Derek Pringle (former England all-rounder).” Some stretch of imagination indeed, but uncannily close! Pringle does resemble the two mentioned. More than his father Chris, who played 14 Tests and 64 ODIs, most of them for New Zealand.
Did you know?
Authorities have immortalised spectator Harold Gascoigne at the SCG by installing a bronze statue of him in the stands Atreyo Mukhopadhyay
Sydney Cricket Ground, where India beat the Netherlands on Thursday, is possibly the only cricket stadium which has a statue of a spectator. Popularly known as Yabba and written about by noted journalists of his time, Harold Gascoigne was a renowned ‘barracker’ in the 1930s, most famously during the Bodyline series in 1932-33. A rabbit meat seller by profession, he was known for his innovative comments. Authorities have immortalised him at the famous ground by installing a bronze statue of him in the stand named after the legendary Victor Trumper.
