When Team India plays the Netherlands in Sydney, they will steal the show once more. Virat Kohli, the previous captain, played a fantastic knock of 82* off 53 balls, securing the chase of 160 on the final ball of the over, and India will be full of confidence following their stunning come-from-behind triumph over Pakistan. On Monday, the Netherlands and Bangladesh played a competitive game. The Dutch bowlers did a good job of holding Bangladesh to 144, but the hitters struggled to get going and were down to 15/4. Although Colin Ackermann spearheaded the comeback with 62 off 48 balls, Bangladesh ultimately won by 9 runs. One of the final few teams to qualify for the 2022 T20 World Cup was The Men in Orange. In the semifinals of the Qualifiers, they overcame the United States of America before falling to Zimbabwe. Due to their loss to Zimbabwe, they would be competing in Group A with Namibia, Sri Lanka, and United Arab Emirates in an effort to advance to the Super 12. The SCG surface has been favorable for batting in recent years, but as we witnessed in the New Zealand-Australia game where the Kiwis posted 200 and the Aussies were bowled out for 111, it slows down as the game goes on. Both pacers and spinners like catching hitters off guard at the SCG's long, straight boundaries.
In their match against Pakistan, India picked what many considered to be its strongest XI from the available team. And they'll probably continue with it. This would imply that Chahal and Harshal would stay on the sidelines.
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The Netherlands, who have now dropped two straight games dating back to the qualifying phase, are expected to change their starting lineup in an effort to turn things around. Stephan Myburgh, a seasoned batsman, might take over for Vikramjit Singh at the top. As the Netherlands appear to be no match for the Asian giants, India will be the clear favourite. In Group 2's points standing, India is presently in the lead because to their exciting opening victory over Pakistan. In order to boost their Net Run Rate (NRR) and maintain their lead in the standings, Men in Blue will also be looking for a convincing victory over the Netherlands.
NETHERLANDS STAR PLAYERS
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Max O'Dowd, a 28-year-old opening batsman, is the only batsman in the nation to have scored a century in T20 Internationals. Additionally, he is one of the two batsmen from the Netherlands with more than 1000 runs in the shortest format. Ben Cooper is the other batter. The only player in the current lineup with more than 50 wickets to his name is fast bowler Paul Van Meekeren. In terms of T20I cricket, he is also the team's most seasoned player.
ANALYSING NETHERLANDS SQUAD
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Tom Cooper, Teja Nidamanuru, Logan Van Beek, Tim Pringle, Fred Klassen, Paul Van Meekeren, Shariz Ahmed, Aryan Dutt, Clayton Foyd, Shane Snater, Musa Ahmed, and Scott Edwards (C). This squad will be facing Indian team in the upcoming match on Thursday.
With the productive Max O'Dowd and Bas De Leede at the top and the on-form Scott Edwards in the lower middle order, the Netherlands' batting lineup appears to be entertaining. But most crucially, having the seasoned Tom Cooper, who was born in New South Wales, in the middle would be really encouraging for the team since Cooper is quite familiar with Australian conditions because he has played a lot of cricket there. Despite the lineup's apparent strength, the team must avoid collapses like the one it suffered against Zimbabwe in the Qualifiers final.
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Although Scott Edwards may have been the team's batting champion in 2022, his qualifications as a captain aren't the best. It will be a struggle for Edwards to captain the squad at the age of 25 in such a significant competition in only his first season in that position. The challenge seems even greater for Edwards and his crew when you consider that the team will play three matches in just five days that will determine their fate. Similar to the other seven teams competing in the tournament's group stage, Netherlands will have a relatively small window of time during which their fate will be decided. It will be difficult for them to adapt to the local conditions fast and produce victories that can advance them to the Super 12s given their lack of prior playing experience in Australia. Netherlands was one of the parties who felt wronged when the ICC chose to organise a 10 team 50 over World Cup in 2015 after they participated in four of the five World Cups from 1996. The level of play they displayed during the T20 World Cups in 2014 and 2016 strengthened arguments for the inclusion of Associate Nations in major competitions. However, the team's performance at the 2021 T20 World Cup was unsatisfactory, and by improving in the future T20 World Cup, Netherlands can strengthen those voices in favour of giving Associate Nations more exposure.
