Picking a combined India-Netherlands playing 11 ahead of 2023 World Cup clash ft. Rohit Sharma and Scott Edwards
Team India will take on the Netherlands in match number 45 of the 2023 World Cup at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday.
This will be the last match of the league stage of the competition. Irrespective of the result, the Men in Blue will finish in top position in the points table, having already clinched eight wins in a row. The Netherlands will look to end a disappointing campaign with a competitive performance against India.
The Men in Blue were last seen in action on November 5 against South Africa at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The hosts came up with another thumping effort to down the Proteas by 243 runs. Batting first, India posted 326/5 on the board. The bowlers then combined to bundle out South Africa for a paltry 83 in 27.1 overs.
Looking at the Netherlands’ performance in their last match, they were hammered by England by 160 runs. Batting first, the Englishmen put up 339/9 on the board. In response, the Dutch side were bundled out for 179 in 37.2 overs, failing to put up much of a resistance.
Ahead of their 2023 World Cup clash on Sunday, we pick a combined India-Netherlands playing XI.
Openers: Rohit Sharma (c) and Shubman Gill
Since Netherlands’ opening partnership has done little of note in the 2023 World Cup, India’s Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill would open the innings in the combined XI as well.
Men in Blue skipper Rohit has been impressively aggressive, scoring 442 runs in eight innings at an average of 55.25 and a strike rate of 122.78.
Gill missed India’s first couple of games due to illness and has not been as consistent. But he has done a decent job, scoring 219 runs in six innings at an average of 36.50. The right-handed batter scored 53 against Bangladesh and contributed 92 against Sri Lanka.
Middle order: Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Sybrand Engelbrecht, and Scott Edwards (wk)
Virat Kohli is an easy candidate in the combined playing XI for the No. 3 position. He has been in exceptional form, totaling 543 runs in eight innings at an average of 108.60 and a strike rate of 88.29. Kohli has notched up two hundreds and four fifties, equaling Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 49 ODI tons with a three-figure score against South Africa on his 35th birthday.
Shreyas Iyer has also lifted his game at a disappointing start to the World Cup. After registering only one 50-plus score in India’s first six matches, he hit a scintillating 82 off 56 against Sri Lanka and followed it up with 77 off 87 against South Africa on a tricky pitch.
Netherlands’ duo of Sybrand Engelbrecht and skipper Scott Edwards also feature in the combined XI. Engelbrecht has scored 255 runs in seven innings at an average of 36.42, with two half-centuries. He has lifted the team from poor starts on a few occasions.
Keeper-batter Edwards has 242 runs in eight innings at an average of 40.33. He scored 78* in the win over South Africa and 68 in the triumph over Bangladesh.
All-rounders: Ravindra Jadeja and Logan van Beek
India’s Ravindra Jadeja has done a great job for the team, making crucial contributions with both bat and ball. He began the World Cup with 3/28 against Australia and registered career-best figures of 5/33 versus South Africa. Jadeja has also chipped in with useful cameos against New Zealand, Sri Lanka, and South Africa.
Logan van Beek also finds a place in the combined India-Netherlands XI. In seven matches, the Dutch pacer has claimed 12 wickets at an average of 30.75. With the bat, he has contributed 124 runs, with a best of 59.
Bowlers: Aryan Dutt, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Shami
Netherlands’ young off-spinner Aryan Dutt is a versatile bowler, who can come in at various stages of an innings. In eight innings, the 20-year-old has managed 10 wickets, averaging 37.40 with a strike rate of 5.30. He is also a handy batter lower in the order.
As a bowling pair, Indian pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami have been exceptional. The former has 15 scalps in eight matches at an average of 15.53, while Shami has 16 wickets in four games, averaging just seven. The numbers tell the story of their dominance.