Two teams with contrasting starts will lock horns on the 9th of October at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
New Zealand provided a phenomenal opening of the 2023 CWC, namely the leftie duo of Conway and Rachin who stitched the highest partnership in a WC chase to steer NZ home while chasing 283, within 36.2 overs. They were missing captain Kane, but his replacement Tom Latham didn’t let us feel his absence, with his smart field placements complimenting the disciplined lines of his bowlers, especially Santner and Matt Henry. A lot of the fans didn't give New Zealand many chances before the 5th of October given their inconsistent performances in bilaterals. However, this is a national side that always manages to outperform in ICC events, be it with respect to their population or recent form.
On the other Netherlands would be disappointed due to the number of times they had Pakistan under the pump on Day 2, but let the opposition slip away each and every time. Till about the 75th over of the match, Netherlands were going neck-to-neck with Pakistan, but Rauf’s wicket of Teja Nidamanuru initiated a collapse which saw them falling 81 runs short of Pakistan’s total. They do however have experience playing at the Uppal stadium already and would look to use it against the Kiwis on the 9th
Probable XIs:
Netherlands:
Max O’Dowd, Vikramjit Singh, Colin Ackermann, Bas De Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Scott Edwards(C/WK), Logan Van Beek, Roelof Van Der Merwe, Ryan Klein, Aryan Dutt, Paul Van Meekeran.
New Zealand:
Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham(C/WK), Glenn Phillips, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult, Matt Henry.
Interesting Match-ups:
- Tom Latham averaged 171 with a strike rate of 113.24 across the 3-match ODI series in 2022.
- New Zealand whitewashed Netherlands 3-0 in early 2022 and the Dutch would look to register their first win against the Kiwis in ODIs
Interesting Stats:
- Bas De Leede top scored for his team with a 68-ball 67 and also took 4 wickets in the first innings. He is the first player to score 50+ runs and take 4+ wickets in an ODI match, consecutively.
- Conway’s average of 54 is the 7th best figure in ODI history (min. 1000 runs)
- Scott Edwards needs 98 runs more to overtake Tom Cooper as Netherlands’s 2nd highest run-getter in ODIs
- Trent Boult is 2 wickets away from claiming 200 ODI scalps. He will become the 3rd fastest bowler to reach this milestone
Injury Updates:
- Kane is slated to continue his exile as his ACL injury prevents him from taking the field at Hyderabad. Southee and Sodhi are fit to go and don't be surprised if one of them makes it into the XI
- Van Beek was disturbed by his hamstring during his 28-ball cameo against Pakistan and there isn’t 100% certainty of his participation. In such a case, Saqib Zulfiqar may get one more chance to make his mark on the biggest stage.
Players to watch out for:
Matt Henry: Amongst the fireworks of the 2nd innings, most of us overlooked Matt Henry’s all-round bowling performance. He provided control upfront when Boult was struggling to find his length, dismissing inform opener Malan and when things seemed to go out of hand, he came back and removed English skipper Jos Buttler. Henry has picked up 23 wickets within overs 1-10 since the 2019 WC, 3rd most for bowlers participating in the 2023 edition.
Scott Edwards: As mentioned in the above section, Edwards has become one of the more decorated players in Netherlands history within a period of 5 years. During this period, he has led the team as a skipper and a batsman, scoring 1212 runs @39.09 with a strike rate of 92.58. Dutch fans were disappointed after Edwards was dismissed for a 2-ball duck in the previous match and he would make sure that he will make his amends against the Kiwis.
Match Particulars:
Date: 9th October 2023
Time: 2:00 PM IST
Venue: Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad
Predictions:
- Conway and Rachin might open the batting. Both of them are lefties and thus may face difficulty against Aryan Dutt, the right-arm off-spinner who bowled brilliantly with the new ball against Pakistan
- Spin to do most of the damage, considering how helpful the pitch proved to be on day 2.
- Scott Edwards who got out for a duck in his first match will make amends and prove why he is the best batter of this Netherlands’s side over the past couple of years.
Conditions:
The Hyderabad pitch unexpectedly provided much more grip and turn to the spinners than expected. If the same pitch is used for this game, one might expect spinners to be galore, and thus New Zealand will be tempted to bring in Ish Sodhi who they left out during the opener.
The square boundaries are short and expect batsmen to make full use of them. Chances of dew are very low and one can expect the winning team to bat first, though we believe the toss won’t play a big factor.
DREAM 11 TEAM:
