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Rohit Sharma-led India register their second win on the trot in T20 World Cup 2022 by beating Netherlands by a massive margin of 56 runs at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). After three half-centuries in the first innings, Indian bowlers did not let the Dutch get anywhere near the target and reached to the top of Group 1.
The Dutch run chase was derailed early by Indian pacers. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the first one two strike with the wicket of opener Vikramjit Singh who scored just one run from nine deliveries. Bhuvneshwar bowled two maiden overs to keep a lid on runs during fielding restrictions. Max ODowd got three boundaries but got bowled by Axar Patel as he moved too far across the line. Netherlands could manage only 27//2 in the powerplay overs.
As the required run rate went up, the Dutchmen played a few loose shots. Bas de Leede (16) got out to Axar in an attempt to hit a big shot. Meanwhile, Dinesh Karthik did not have a good time behind the stumps and missed a few stumping chances. Ravichandran Ashwin joined the party with the wickets of Colin Ackermann (17) and Tom Cooper (9) in the 13th over.
Tom Pringle (20) looked to attack but his cameo was cut-short by Mohammed Shami in the 16th over. Bhuvneshwar returned to the attack and dismissed skipper Scott Edwards in the 17th over. Arshdeep came back well after conceding boundaries in powerplay overs. The left-arm pacer got wickets of Logan van Beek (3) and Fred Klaassen off (0) consecutive deliveries. Paul van Meekeren (14) and Shariz Ahmad (16) did not led Netherlands get all out. Van Meekeren helped Netherlands finish well with three consecutive boundaries off Arshdeep.
Earlier Rohit won the toss and opted to bat first. India got off to a shaky start. KL Rahul managed to hit one boundary but lost his wicket in the third over in an attempt to play across the line. He scored just nine runs from 12 deliveries. Dutch bowlers kept Rohit and Virat Kohli quiet in the powerplay overs. Just two fours and one six were hit during the fielding restrictions. India had 32/1 on the board after six overs.
Rohit tried to accelerate after the powerplay overs as Kohli took his type to play himself in. At halfway stage, India were 67/1. Rohit got to his half-century in the next over from 35 deliveries and made Netherlands for dropping his catch twice early in the innings. Rohit could not carry on and got dismissed by Klaassen in the 12th over. Before getting caught at deep mid-wicket, he scored 53 runs from 39 deliveries including four fours and three sixes.
In the 14th over Suryakumar infused some life into the innings with two boundaries. Before the 15th over, Kohli changed his bat. Suryakumar continued to find gaps and hit boundaries. Kohli joined him in the 17th over hitting him for a four and six. He reached his second half-century in the tournament from 38 deliveries.
In the final over, Kohli and Suryakumar hit one six each to help India post 179/2. Suryakumar reached his half-century off the final ball of the innings. He took 25 deliveries to reach the milestone. His unbeaten 51 was studded with seven fours and one six. On the other end, Kohli remained unbeaten for 62 off 44 deliveries including three fours and two sixes.
