13 November,2023 08:45 AM IST | Mumbai | Jatin Paranjape
India’s Shreyas Iyer (128 not out) celebrates his century against the Netherlands in Bangalore on Sunday. Pic/PTI
India continue to look a well-oiled machine at the end of the group matches. Skipper Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill were at their fluent best and toyed with the Dutch bowlers on a typically flat batting wicket at the Chinnaswamy on Sunday.
Gill continues to play astonishing shots with a smile on his face and is hitting boundaries and sixes for fun. Virat Kohli looked superb once again with some short-arm pull shots to medium pacers and a rare sweep shot being the highlights of his half-century. It should have been converted into his 50th ODI ton had it not been for a rare concentration lapse that saw him misjudging the length from the consistent Roelof van der Merwe and the ball thudding into his off stump.
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Shreyas Iyer is at his best, playing some of his trademark shots over mid-off and mid-on. He was subjected to some short stuff that did not bother him in the least. The short pitched bowling is actually helping Shreyas get more practice and he will improve his horizontal bat game as a result. KL Rahul was also at his best and his late hyper acceleration took India past the 400-mark.
The Netherlands's fielding was breathtaking. The Oranje saved more than 30 runs at least. Van der Merwe was impressive in his art of left-arm spin bowling with subtle variations in flight and pace intact after all these years. He's a spinner with a big heart and should have got Rahul out for 10 runs lesser.
As expected, India defended their total easily with Jasprit Bumrah firing on all cylinders once again. He holds the key to India's success in the semi-final against NZ. The weather in Mumbai is surprisingly warm and humid for this time of the year, and the ball will swing for Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj. It will also swing for Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson. I suspect NZ will also play Kyle Jamieson, who could be the dark horse in this semi-final, as he will find bounce from a good length at Wankhede and that could trouble shot-maker Gill.
Jatin Paranjape, the ex-India and Mumbai batsman, is a former national selector too.
He tweets@jats72
