The high of the thrilling win over Pakistan on Sunday could have been a distraction, but Rohit Sharma's India demonstrated that they are focused on the task at hand in the T20 World Cup 2022, putting in a clinical performance against the Netherlands in their Super 12 match on Thursday, October 27 in Sydney.
India finished their 20 overs with 179 for 2 and held the Netherlands to 123 for 9 to secure a 56-run victory.
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India climbed to the top of the Super 12 Group 2 points standings, surpassing South Africa, which had thrashed Bangladesh earlier in the day in Sydney. India now has four points and a respectable Net Run Rate of +1.425 as they try to overcome the disappointment of last year's early exit and reach the T20 World Cup 2022 semi-finals.
Suryakumar Yadav provided the late push with a quickfire 51 not out after captain Rohit Sharma showed signs of a return to form with a good fifty under pressure. Spinners Axar Patel and R Ashwin both took four wickets with the ball, while Arshdeep Singh and Bhuvneshwar Kumar each took two.
India won the toss and chose to bat on a sluggish surface in Sydney, with Rohit Sharma warning at the toss that conditions would slow down in the second half. Batting was again difficult for India, with the Netherlands pacers keeping it tight in the powerplay. India lost KL Rahul as the vice-cautious captain's attitude was exposed once more. Rahul elected not to review the on-field LBW ruling after getting out to a full-length delivery from bowler Paul van Meekeren. Replays, however, indicated that the ball would have missed the leg-stump.
With Rahul out, Virat Kohli teamed up with skipper Rohit Sharma, and the two took their time getting started. At the end of the game, India was 32 for 1 at the end of powerplay.
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