The middle match of the three in the T20 World Cup on Thursday is the second part of the double header from the Sydney Cricket Ground and will see India looking to take control of Group 2 when they go up against the Netherlands in the Super 12 stage.
India got over the line in an epic against Pakistan on Sunday and will be huge favourites to add a second win to their tally. The Netherlands were edged out by Bangladesh in their first game and will be looking for a major scalp in this one.
India
Whenever India and Pakistan meet it is always an amazing occasion and quite often a brilliant game of cricket is delivered and that was certainly the case in Melbourne on Sunday. I think you would have to concede that for long periods of the match India were behind the game and second best, but teams can gain a lot of confidence from winning a match they had no real right to, so long as they don’t allow the victory to paper over any cracks that there are.
You would have thought that India would have got the job done with the new ball when they reduced Pakistan to 15-2 after four overs with both openers out but they allowed Pakistan back into the match and nearly paid the price had it not been for a Virat Kohli masterclass. India will be expected to win this match and win it well but more important to them might be that their openers find some runs as they will be needed throughout the tournament.
Netherlands
I always fear for a lesser side in their first match in this stage of a World Cup after they have climbed the mountain to come out of their opening group, and it was a mountain for the Netherlands because they spent the final few hours of their first stage group relying on the UAE to beat Namibia to keep them in the tournament. That happened but rather than relish the second chance they were given they couldn’t quite manage the expectation and fell to what would have been an annoying defeat.
The Dutch might not see it like this but you have to think they have nothing to lose here. They have four chances to take a test playing scalp and for one or two of their players to showcase their skills against the sort of side that might make one of the franchise teams around the world stand up and take notice. If the Netherlands are to win this then they will need to bat a lot smarter than they did against Bangladesh and bowl out of their skins.
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Team News
Although they only just got over the line against Pakistan, India are expected to go in with the same team even though the Netherlands only have one left-hander in their top order which would ordinarily mean that Yuzvendra Chahal would come in.
The Netherlands are hoping to have Somerset all-rounder Roelof van der Merwe fit for this match after the injury he sustained in the final group game of the first phase kept him out of the defeat to Bangladesh. A game time decision will be made on him.
Betting
I’ll go for a couple of bets over the course of this match with the first of them coming in the form of the runs for Rohit Sharma. The Indian captain is a player who has made a habit out of scoring runs when he has really needed them and while his team probably won’t need them here, any runs he does score will be more than beneficial to his team down the line. He has a runs line of 24.5 in this match and I like him to cover that. Already this tournament we have seen Muhammad Waseem, Kusal Perera and Najmul Hossain Shanto cover this line as openers against the Dutch and Sharma has a history of filling his boots against the lesser sides. In the eight matches I’ve found him play against associate/lesser sides he has made four 50s, a 39 and a 30. I see no reason why he can’t make 25 here.
I’ll also have a small bet on R Ashwin to be the leading bowler for India in this match. He is the main spinner in this team in terms of the toughest to read and he is ideally suited to Australian conditions as he gets a lot of bounce being a tall man. Ashwin will have a perfect pitch for his bowling here too because the SCG has a reputation for turn and this pitch is said to be pretty dry which should suit him nicely. We’ve seen the Dutch struggle against mystery spin in this tournament already and I expect them to do the same here. 5/1 on Ashwin is a shade too big to me.
Tips
Back R.Sharma – Over 24.5 runs for a 3/10 stake at 1.85 with BetVictor
Back him here:
Back R.Ashwin Top India Bowler for a 1/10 stake at 6.00 with Betfred
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