Overall: Will India allow the bench guys some playing time?
Other than an occasional test, India’s World Cup run has been nothing short of extraordinary. They now have the opportunity to provide their fans with another round of entertainment on the eve of the auspicious Indian holiday of Diwali. While anything can happen in sports, it is quite improbable that the hosts will lose.
This is due to India’s utter dominance throughout their 8-0 World Cup run. Even though they have performed better than anticipated, they are playing the least favorite team in the tournament—Netherlands—in their last league game. India’s next major match is a semi-final against New Zealand on Wednesday. Sunday gives them an opportunity to rest important players if necessary.
India head coach Rahul Dravid stated in a press conference that his team is not considering “tactical” changes, but they might be tempted to give players like R Ashwin, who hasn’t played since the opening match against Australia last month, or Prasidh Krishna, who is playing in his first World Cup, some playing time.
Virat Kohli, on the other hand, is unlikely to be well-rested as he is attempting to reach 50 ODI tons, a feat that has never been accomplished by a man. When Kohli reaches 100 on Sunday, he and India will both be hoping that the talk of records being broken will die down and that, by the time the Indian side reaches the semi-final, their collective attention will be on that elusive knockout win rather than on milestones that have occasionally overshadowed the merciless nature of winning this tournament.
Netherlands will need to make a statement of their own. Despite the highs of two fantastic victories, they have spent more time in India than any other visiting team this World Cup, and they wouldn’t want to finish last in the points standings. They were keen to play the warm-up match against India, which ended in a washout, but now they have another opportunity to perform well in what is expected to be their team’s most watched international cricket match. But as eight other teams have already discovered, it will be unbelievably tough.
Shubman Gill and Bas de Leede in the spotlight
Before the World Cup, analysts and fans alike agreed that Shubman Gill was the player with the best chance of winning the tournament. It hasn’t, however, been. He lost weight and muscle mass due to a dengue infection, he wasn’t fully fit when the competition began, and his two half-centuries in six innings have meant that his entire performance has fallen short of the high standards he had set for himself. Gill’s scores have gone unnoticed because Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are making so many runs, but India will like a huge total from the opener before the crucial semi-final in Mumbai.
Among his team’s quicks, he has the lowest economy (7.10) but also the most wickets (14) for the Netherlands this World Cup. This competition was supposed to bring Bas de Leede many highs, but all he got in return for his all-around performance versus Pakistan was disappointment. In summary, he has fallen short of his potential due to run leaking and inability to score critical runs from the lower-middle order. This is his final opportunity to leave his mark, and with the IPL auction coming up the following month, a great showing against the hosts India might be just what the doctor ordered.
Team update: Bumrah to take a nap?
While Dravid stated that the squad will not “experiment” tactically, it is possible that an unusual adjustment will occur.
Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 KL Rahul, 6 Suryakumar Yadav, are the probable players for India. 7 Jadeja Ravindra, R Ashwin / Kuldeep Yadav, 8, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah / Prasidh Krishna, and Mohammed Shami
Max O’Dowd / Vikramjit Singh, 2 Wesley Barresi, 3 Colin Ackermann, 4 Sybrand Engelbrecht, Netherlands (probably) 5 Captain Scott Edwards, 6 Leede Bas, Tenth Teja Nidamanuru, Ninth Roelof van der Merwe, Tenth Aryan Dutt, Eleventh Paul van Meekeren
Pitch and circumstances: countless big scores
The theme of the last World Cup match, which is set to take place in Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy Stadium, is runs, runs, and more runs. Here, Australia defeated Pakistan with 367 while New Zealand hammered 401. India’s goal, should they choose to bat first, will be a score in that area.
