On the 15th of October, they were last, on the 20th they were in the top 4. If there’s one team you simply can’t give a sniff when they are down it’s Team Australia. Sri Lanka and Pakistan have helped them get back in the reckoning and the worrying part for the rest of the world is that they aren’t even at their best yet. The Netherlands would have been considered their easiest assignment before the World Cup but Australia can’t take them easy after what happened to South Africa.
Netherlands: They have lost 3 of their 4 matches so far but the 1 win remains their highlight of the World Cup so far. When their pacers get help from the wicket, they look like a potent bowling attack, something they might not get at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground. Their lower-order batting has been magnificent specially against South Africa and also Sri Lanka. However, to pull this game off they need their top order to fire so that they can put pressure on Australia’s nonperforming middle order.
Australia: It wasn’t going to be long before Australian batsmen flexed their muscles and they did. Warner and Marsh’s opening stand could well be the launch pad for Australia in the World Cup semis. They would though be more buoyed seeing Adam Zampa back in wicket-taking form, continuing his good work from Sri Lanka. Marcus Stoinis’s breakthrough vs Pakistan could have well sealed his seat once Travis Head returns. The middle-order form and lack of wickets up-front still is a major concern for the men in yellow.
Australia Probable XI: David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis (WK), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (C), Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
Netherlands Probable XI: Max ODowd, Vikramjit Singh, Colin Ackermann, Bas De Leede, Scott Edwards (C/WK), Teja Nidamanuru, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Logan van Beek, Roelof van der Merwe, Aryan Dutt, Paul van Meekeren.
Key Players to watch for:
Mitchell Starc: One of the all-time World Cup greats hasn’t had the best of tournaments yet and he will fancy getting going against an underperforming Netherlands top order against whom he already took a hat trick in the warm-ups.
Roelof Van Der Merwe: The Australian middle order has struggled against spin and with all of them batting right-handed, the ever-competitive left-arm spinner will fancy his chances like Ravindra Jadeja in the opening match
Interesting Stats:
Australia and the Netherlands have played 2 ODIs only till date, both in World Cups of 2003 & 2007. Australia won both.
Australia is currently on 599 ODI wins. A win would make them the first team to have 600 ODI wins.
Mitchell Starc(55) needs 2 more wickets to be the 3rd highest wicket-taker of all time in the WC
Weather Report and Pitch:
Unlike the expectations, Delhi has provided some great batting surfaces with all teams except England exceeding 270. Expect nothing less here.
DREAM 11:
