World Cup 2023, Match 45 | India Predicted XI vs Netherlands

image-lotfsgxrIndia will be playing Netherlands in their last group match of the World Cup 2023 (Source: AP Photos)

In the last match of the league stages in the 2023 World Cup, India and Netherlands will lock horns in the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. The game is slated to kick off at 2:00 PM IST.

Despite winning only two of their first eight games, the Netherlands have enjoyed an outstanding season. A side that played in the ODI World Cup for the first time in the last twelve years stunned the cricket world by trouncing South Africa for the second time in 365 days. They also backed it up with a win over Bangladesh in Eden Gardens, Kolkata.

If England loses to Pakistan and Bangladesh loses to Australia on Saturday, a Dutch win over India would help them seal a spot for the 2025 Champions Trophy. If all three teams win their respective games, the positions will be decided on NRR where the 'Oranje' have a slim chance of making the cut. 

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The final game of the league round is a dead rubber, as India has already advanced to the semi-finals with eight wins in a row.

From an Indian standpoint, they have been completely dominant with both bat and ball in hand. The majority of their victories have been one-sided, with the Men in Blue ripping off the opponents. 

Pakistan and New Zealand were performing well in the World Cup until they suffered four straight defeats following their match against India. Sri Lanka was humiliated by the Indian bowling attack after being bowled out for 55 runs, while a powerful Proteas side was pitted against the hosts. With 16 points from eight matches, the hosts are sitting at the top of the points table. 

India could make test their bench strength and manage their workload of a few cricketers. So let us find how the predicted XI may sound like.


Openers: Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill

India team have a set opening pair in the form of Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma. Although Ishan Kishan is in the reserves and can bat at the top and middle order, the Indian team may continue with their winning formula.

Sharma is the second highest run-scorer for India in the ongoing World Cup and is the fifth-highest across nations. He has often given rollicking starts to the team and set the tone for a chase or in setting totals.

Gill was diagnosed with Dengue earlier and therefore missed out a few matches before returning for the Pakistan clash in Ahmedabad. The young gun is a talented bloke and is one of the future stars of the nation.


Middle Order: Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Kl Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav

India's middle order consists of formidable batters in the form of Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav. Kohli has been stupendous with the bat, scoring 543 runs from eight matches. He scored two centuries in the tournament and the latest came against South Africa in the Eden Gardens. He reached his 49th ODI century and equalled the feat with the great Sachin Tendulkar.

Shreyas Iyer has been astounding with the bat in recent games too. He scored two fifties in his last couple of games. The strong performance of the top order required KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav to play quickfires at the lower batting order. Earlier, Rahul smashed 97 and won a game against Australia in Chennai. He loves to bat in Bangalore and has a very good IPL record here.

Suryakumar is another such batter who has silently done his job with the bat. He played some fine innings lower down the order and has filled the void of Hardik Pandya the batter quite well.


All-rounders: Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin and Shardul Thakur

Since India are already qualified, Ravichandran Ashwin and Shardul Thakur may come back in the playing XI. This could be done to rest a few of the players. It will also test the bench strength of India.

Ravindra Jadeja is a very important member of the side and could feature in this match. He bagged a fifer against South Africa in the Eden Gardens, Kolkata.


Bowlers: Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Siraj

India may rest ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah ahead of the important knockout games. In that case, Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami could be leading the pace department with Shardul as the third seamer. Siraj has been fantastic with the new ball while Shami has been even better. He has scalped 16 wickets from four matches including two fifers. Kuldeep Yadav should be their primary spinner.


India Predicted XI against Netherlands

Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, and Mohammed Siraj.