Bengaluru: Team India kept their date with history, notching up their ninth consecutive win in the ODI World Cup for the first time ever.
It was the turn of The Netherlands to suffer at the hands of ruthless and rampant Indians at the Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Sunday evening.
Having piled up a gigantic total of 410/4 after deciding to bat first, India bowled out the Dutch for 250. The 160-run victory helped India surpass their previous best streak of 8 back-to-back victories achieved in the 2003 World Cup.
Australia hold the record of 11 wins on the trot – in 2003 and 2007 when they lifted the trophy without a loss.
India have a chance to emulate the Aussies if they go on to clinch the prestigious title on November 19.
First up for them in the knockout stage are New Zealand, who they face at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium on November 15.
The men in blue couldn’t have hoped for a better game to warm up for the semifinal.
The top three in the batting order – Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli – all scored half-centuries. Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul then turned on the style with classy centuries.
The bowlers then kept up their impressive form. As a bonus, some of the batters rolled their arms over just in case they are needed in emergency situations, and senior pros Kohli and Rohit picked up a wicket each too, much to the delight of nearly 50,000 spectators.
Right arm off spin – Rohit Sharma gets a wicket 😘😘#INDvNED ll #RohitSharma pic.twitter.com/Xg7kM7LB5U
— VECTOR⁴⁵ (@Vector_45R) November 12, 2023
Brief scores: India 410/5 in 50 overs (Shreyas Iyer 128*, KL Rahul 102, Rohit Sharma 61, Shubman Gill 51, Virat Kohli 51). The Netherlands 250 all out in 47.5 overs (Teja Nidamanuru 54, Sybrand Engelbrecht 45; Md Siraj 2/29, Jasprit Bumrah 2/33, Kuldeep Yadav 2/41, Ravindra Jadeja 2/49).
Result: India won by 160 runs.
Man of the Match: Shreyas Iyer.
Semifinals: India vs New Zealand at Mumbai on Nov 15; Australia vs South Africa at Kolkata on Nov 16.
