Bengaluru: Rohit Sharma and Subhman Gill were off to an explosive start after India won the toss and elected to bat first against the Netherlands in the last game of the league stage of the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 at Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday.
Both India and the Netherlands went in with unchanged teams.
In the seventh over, Rohit broke AB de Villiers’ record for most sixes (58) in a calendar year in ODI cricket, which the latter held for eight years, as he stepped down the track and smashed the fourth ball from Colin Ackermann over long on and into the second tier. The hitman has also set a new record for the most sixes by a captain in ODI World Cup history, going past Chris Gayle’s record of 49 maximums in 34 innings. Rohit also completed 14,000 runs in international cricket as an opener.
India were India 91/0 in 10 overs with Gill on 47 off 26, Rohit on 42 off 43. However, Gill departed after scoring 51 with India at 100/1 in 11.5 overs. He also hit four sixes.
Talking about the toss, Rohit earlier said that there is no particular reason to bat first, they have done well regardless of what they have chosen at the toss. “Another opportunity to play well today and tick all the boxes. Extremely happy with how we have played in this tournament. Hats off to the guys who have stood up at different times and taken the responsibility,” he said.
India have a 2-0 record against the Netherlands at the World Cup, while a win can help Netherlands secure their place at next year’s Champions Trophy.
This match is the final dress rehearsal for India before the big knockout later this week. India, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand have sailed into the semis and the fixtures are finalised for the two knockout games on November 15 and 16 respectively.
