India in charge despite stumble

India in charge despite stumble

India v Netherlands, Group B, World Cup 2011, Delhi

Netherlands restricted to 189

Pieter Seelaar

Netherlands batsmen started solidly and ended with a flourish but floundered in the middle period on a placid track at Feroz Shah Kotla to set a middling target. The intensity was lacking in the Indian effort, and the bowling was generally flat, but even that proved enough to contain Netherlands as the home side aimed to become the first team to qualify for the quarter-finals.

On choosing to bat, Eric Szwarczynski, playing his first match of the tournament, combined well with Wesley Barresi to put on 56, equalling Netherlands' best opening partnership in World Cups. There were only six boundaries in the first two Powerplays but aside from a Barresi edge that ballooned and landed wide of covers and a Barresi pull just out of Yuvraj Singh's reach at midwicket, it was mostly easy going for Netherlands

Piyush Chawla, surprisingly retained after a horror match against Ireland, finally got the breakthrough in the 16th over with his favourite weapon, the googly, which Szwarczynski read too late to be bowled. The next dismissal came from the most impressive bowler in the Ireland game, Yuvraj Singh, whose wicket-to-wicket bowling got Barresi lbw.

Tom Cooper and Ryan ten Doeschate, two batsmen with career averages in the mid-60s, thwarted India for 10 overs, surviving two tough caught-and-bowled chances but dispatching the odd loose ball served up to put on 35. Netherlands were 99 for 2 after 29, not quite top gear but the platform was in place for some big hits later on. It wasn't to be though as both batsmen were dismissed in successive overs to spark a collapse that cost them 5 for 28.

Bas Zuiderent had alerted the world to his talent with a half-century against England in 1996, but of the 16 innings he has played in World Cups since, 12 have been single-digit efforts. Today was another failure for the experienced batsman, done in by Zaheer's swing for a duck.

There were a couple of avoidable run-outs as well, but the dismissal that was most embarrassing for Netherlands was Alexei Kervesee's; he swiped a long hop from Chawla, expertly picking out Harbhajan Singh at deep midwicket - the bowler grinning gleefully at the poor delivery that brought a wicket.

The Netherlands captain, Peter Borren, had spoken of playing brave cricket before this game, and it was his adventurous hitting that lifted his side towards 200. He warmed up by lashing Yuvraj for a couple of powerful fours in the 42nd over, before taking the batting Powerplay and damaging Chawla's figures with a couple of muscular hits over long-on. Mudassar Bukhari joined the fun, swinging two sixes over the leg side before both he and Borren were dimissed by Zaheer in the same over to wrap up the innings.