Netherlands skipper Scott Edwards admitted it is going to be extremely hard for any team to beat India’s potent team in the ongoing World Cup 2023. India ended the league stage on a high after a comprehensive win of 160 runs against the Dutch at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru on Sunday.
India continued its domination as they posted a gargantuan score of 410 runs, which is their second-highest in World Cups, after electing to bat first. After Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Virat Kohli scored fifties, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul scored fine centuries.
Iyer scored an unbeaten knock of 128 runs whereas Rahul contributed 102 runs at his home ground. The duo added 208 runs for the fourth wicket, the highest in World Cup history. Furthermore, Rahul scored the fastest century for India in World Cups.
On the other hand, the Netherlands was skittled out for 250 runs as Indian bowlers were once again right on the money. Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Ravindra Jadeja, and Kuldeep Yadav bagged two wickets apiece.
Meanwhile, the Netherlands impressed with their performances as they registered wins against South Africa and Bangladesh. It was a great learning experience for the team and they were able to make the most of it.
Scott Edwards said in the post-match presentation, “We played two good games of cricket, gave ourselves opportunities in other games which we’d have liked to win. Little bit of a tricky one to say where we were compared to where we wanted to be. We were pretty confident with the style we play. Coming into the tournament, we knew it’s going to be a tough tournament. Playing against India, they’re as good a side as there is going around. We’ve got a lot to learn, lot to get better before the T20 World Cup next year.”
He added, “They (India) showed pure class with the bat, there’s plenty to learn off that. There were periods where we bowled well, they just soaked up the pressure. If you’re three down with 10 overs to go, you’re gonna make some runs. They are going to be an extremely hard side to beat in this tournament. We are a very young side, lot of young guys in the set-up, it is about growth for us. We’ve got some training camps and things like that’s coming up. In terms of fixtures, not that sure.”
The Netherlands finished as the wooden spooners with two wins in nine games and thus they could not qualify for the Champions Trophy.
