IND vs NED Match Prediction: Who will win today's T20 World Cup 2022 match?
After the high-profile drama of the Men in Blue's 2022 T20 World Cup opener, the India vs Netherlands clash, to be played at the SCG on Thursday, October 27, has flown under the radar. But Rohit Sharma and Co. will know that they can't afford to take the Dutch lightly despite their loss to Bangladesh.
The Netherlands squandered the initiative at various stages of their encounter against the Tigers. Colin Ackermann fought hard with a fifty but found no support from his fellow batters, with the Dutch bowlers giving Bangladesh's lower order a few too many runs.
India, on the other hand, are high on both confidence and form following their nail-biting victory over Pakistan. They needed to dig deep and several things needed to go their way, but at the end of the day they managed to put two points on the board and make a winning start to the T20 World Cup. Ahead of a crucial Group 2 clash against South Africa, the inaugural T20 WC champions will want to sustain their momentum.
India have never faced the Netherlands before in T20I cricket, so the Dutch might be a relative unknown. Can the Men in Blue live up to their tag of "favorites"? Or like Ireland against England, will an unfancied side produce a massive shock?
India vs Netherlands Today Match Prediction - Who will win today's T20 World Cup match between India and Netherlands?
On paper, this prediction seems fairly straightforward. India are a stronger side in all departments and should be able to put two points on the board. But there are a few weaknesses the Netherlands could look to exploit.
The wicket in Sydney is rather dry, and the Dutch bowlers could look to employ cutters to good effect against the Indian batters. Tim Pringle leads a spin attack that has a couple of part-time options as well, with many of them being negative match-ups for the Indian top order.
Paul van Meekeren has been excellent for the Netherlands in the T20 World Cup thus far, clocking good speeds and backing up his pace with accuracy. If he gets adequate support from Fred Klaasen and Bas de Leede, Scott Edwards and Co. could make early inroads into an Indian top order that fell apart in the powerplay against Pakistan.
Virat Kohli, the man of the moment, will be intent on producing another memorable knock in the T20 World Cup. KL Rahul, who is known to raise his game against relatively weaker opponents, might also be eyeing a big score. In the bowling department, India will want to continue from where they left off against Pakistan.
While the Netherlands have shown glimpses of their potential, it's tough to imagine them beating India on Thursday, especially since they're on the back of a disappointing loss to one of the worst sides in this year's T20 World Cup. Rohit and Co. should be able to stay unbeaten in the Super 12 stage.
IND vs NED Match Prediction: India to win today