Virat Kohli scored a brilliant unbeaten 62 as India cruised to a 56-run win over Netherlands in the Men’s T20 World Cup.
Following on from his magnificent 82 not out against Pakistan, Kohli timed his innings to perfection again in Sydney as he put on 73 with Rohit Sharma and an unbroken 95 with Suryakumar Yadav.
After Rohit – dropped on 13 – had fallen for a rather disjointed 53 from 39 deliveries, Kohli kicked on, showing his full range of shots, and brought up his 35th T20 international half-century from 37 balls.
For all Kohli’s excellence, Suryakumar gave the raucous India supporters just as much to cheer in a breathtaking knock and a huge six from the last ball of the innings took him to a 25-ball fifty as India posted 179-2 from their 20 overs.
Fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar started with a maiden and then a wicket-maiden as, with a used pitch at the Sydney Cricket Ground starting to slow up, the Netherlands chase faltered from the off.
Bhuvneshwar finished with 2-9 from three overs and there were also two wickets apiece for left-armer Arshdeep Singh and spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel as Netherlands stuttered to 123-9.
Both sides now move on to Perth for games on Sunday. Netherlands will try to get off the mark in the Super 12s against Pakistan, while India can go a long way to clinching top spot in the group if they beat South Africa. (BBC Sport)
