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

India look for easy win after close games

MS Dhoni

Match facts

March 9, Delhi
Start time 2.30 pm (0900 GMT)

Big Picture

India are in no mood to take this game lightly. MS Dhoni made it clear that he wants an easy ride in Delhi compared to the uncertain drives in Bangalore. They remain the only team in their group yet to lose a match. Barring Dhoni and Yusuf Pathan - both of whom have played useful cameos - all their batsmen have got either a century or a half-century under their belts in the tournament. Even if their bowling machine has not operated smoothly, it is being fine-tuned and they could well make a change or two for Wednesday.

The Netherlands is a nation of about 16 million people, mostly a quiet lot, who only bare their emotions when football is on. The cricketers are usually immune to noise, since they play most of their cricket indoors. So there is little doubt that Peter Borren's men will feel intimidated when they walk out in front of a hostile crowd of 42,000, which might sound like a million. But Borren wants his troops to be brave.

More than heart, Netherlands' players need to keep their head, and remain focussed. Ryan ten Doeschate, with his fighting knock against England in their first match, is their only batsman to score a century in this World Cup, while Tom Cooper is the only other player to get past fifty. India might have come out of a tight contest against the spirited Irish, but the reason they have been among the best teams in the world in the last two years is because they do not repeat their mistakes. If Netherlands have to stand strong, they need their collective best.

Form guide

(completed matches, most recent first)
India: WTWLL
Netherlands: LLLLL

Watch out for ...

Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir will be playing in front of their home crowd at the Feroz Shah Kotla, but both Delhiites have poor records at the ground: Sehwag has a highest score of 42 in four innings, while Gambhir has scored 31 runs in two innings. Both have spoken about how each one derives inspiration from the other partner while playing in Tests, and tomorrow they wouldn't mind sharing a good home run.

Pieter Seelaar is best known for his penguin dance after Netherland's historic win against England at Lord's during the 2009 World Twenty20. Since then, he has grown into a stable left-arm spinner. All the attention is likely to be on Ryan ten Doeschate's all-round skills tomorrow, and that can only be good news for Seelaar, who has been the lone spinner Netherlands have played so far in the tournament. He has been impressive in the tournament so far, and the last time Netherlands played in Delhi, against West Indies, he managed figures of 3 for 45, when every other bowler in his side went for more than six runs an over.

Team news

Will R Ashwin play ahead of Piyush Chawla? Will Ashish Nehra finally play his first game of the tournament? No hints were given by MS Dhoni during his pre-match press conference. Considering that India play South Africa on Saturday in an important match, one that could determine the group seedings, India could think of giving Zaheer Khan a rest. But it won't surprise anyone if they stick to the winning unit.

India (probable): 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Sachin Tendulkar, 3 Gautam Gambhir, 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Yuvraj Singh, 6 MS Dhoni (wk/capt), 7 Yusuf Pathan, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Zaheer Khan/Ashish Nehra, 10 Piyush Chawla/R Ashwin, 11 Munaf Patel

For Netherlands, the missing link has been a second spinner. They have steadfastly stuck to the four-seamers-one-spinner combination. But based on the slowness of the pitch at the Kotla, they could include an extra slow bowler in Adeel Raja, who is one of only two players in the current squad who was in the side thatplayed India in the 2003 World Cup. Raja took two wickets in that game, though India won by 68 runs.

Netherlands (probable): 1 Alexei Kervezee, 2 Wesley Barresi (wk), 3 Tom Cooper, 4 Ryan ten Doeschate, 5 Bas Zuiderent, 6 Tom de Grooth, 7 Peter Borren (capt), 8 Mudassar Bukhari, 9 Pieter Seelaar, 10 Bernard Loots/Adeel Raja, 11 Berend Westdijk.

Pitch and conditions

Big runs are imminent on what should be a flatbed. But the low bounce and the slowness in the track, witnessed in the previous three matches played here, will keep the batsmen on their toes.

Stats and trivia

• India have won one and lost one game in Delhi in World Cups. There have been only three day-night matches in Delhi (all three in the 2011 World Cup) of which two have been won by the side chasing.
• Sachin Tendulkar needs just 18 runs to reach the 2000-run landmark in World Cups. He has scored 1982 runs at 58.29 with five centuries and 13 fifties.

Quotes

"So far we have had a good game, a tight game and a close game. We have shown signs of improvement. What we need now [on Wednesday] is an easy win."
MS Dhoni expresses his calm before the clash with the Dutch. 

"We are going to play brave cricket. Initially, our philosophy was to get out there and take the opposition on and hopefully put them on the back foot. We are going to go out there and try and cause a surprise." 
Peter Borren raises the war cry ahead of Netherland's "toughest" contest.