Reader TTS

SYDNEY: Half-centuries from captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav set up India’s move to the top of Group 2 points table with a thumping 56-run win over the Netherlands in

their second Super 12 match of Men’s T20 World Cup at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Wednesday. With the Netherlands putting a lid on the scoring rate, India found it difficult to break free

on a two-paced pitch. But Rohit (53 off 39 balls) and Kohli (62 not out off 44 balls) managed to share a 73-run stand for the second wicket. Suryakumar (51 not out off 25 balls) changed the

tempo of the innings with his 360-degree style of batting and shared an amazing 95-run stand off 48 deliveries with Kohli for the third wicket as India posted a challenging 179/2 in 20

overs. In reply, the bowlers produced a top-class performance to restrict the Netherlands to 123/9 in 20 overs, as India’s NRR jumped from +0.05 to +1.43. Electing to bat first, K.L Rahul

was trapped lbw by a late inswinger from Paul van Meekeren though replays later showed the ball would have missed hitting leg-stump. With the Netherlands getting the ball to swing both ways,

India struggled for fluency and timing. Though Rohit Sharma pulled van Meekeren for a six over deep square leg and nailed a square cut through off-side for four, he wasn’t at his best. He

had huge slices of luck on his side: a miscued pull off Klaassen in the fifth over was dropped by Tim Pringle at mid-on, and in the next over, his uppish flick off van Meekeren landed just

in front of Pringle again at short fine leg. With Kohli struggling to find boundaries, Rohit cut loose by pulling Logan van Beek for a six over wide long-on. Luck again fell in his favour as

he successfully survived an lbw appeal on the very next ball. From there, Rohit found his groove, uppishly cutting Bas de Leede through backward point for four, followed by a six through

top-edge off the pull for successive boundaries. He then hit Pringle for back-to-back fours through leg-side to get his fifty in 35 balls. But in the next over, he was caught at deep

mid-wicket off Klaassen while swiping across the line.