T20 WC Live: Three in a row! Abhishek Sharma departs for another duck
Colin Ackermann to Tilak Varma, No run.
Aryan Dutt to Ishan Kishan, Pushed through quicker again, shortish and on middle. Ishan Kishan thinks about coming down the track, but gets hurried and stabs it out on the pitch. Two excellent overs from Dutt!
Aryan Dutt to Tilak Varma, Quicker one, full and on leg, Tilak Varma clips it through square leg for a single.
Key Highlights
- Aryan Dutt to Tilak ...
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Aryan Dutt to Tilak Varma, Fires in a yorker now, on off, Tilak Varma bunts it back to the bowler.
Aryan Dutt to Tilak Varma, FOUR! Up and over! Flatter delivery, full and on middle and off. Tilak Varma gets his front leg out of the way and thumps it towards the long on fence for a boundary. Safe shot as mid off and mid on are up in the circle.
Aryan Dutt to Tilak Varma, Follows the batter and delivers with the arm, angling into the leg side, fuller in length. Tilak Varma goes down for the paddle but misses and gets hit on the pads.
Aryan Dutt to Tilak Varma, Floated, full and on middle, Tilak Varma pushes it back to the bowler.
Logan van Beek to Tilak Varma, Goes fuller and on leg, pace on this time. Tilak Varma advances to flick it away but gets an inside edge onto his pads as the ball rolls behind the pitch. They cross. 15 runs off the over!
Logan van Beek to Tilak Varma, Change of pace, hits the length hard and on off, Tilak Varma pats it towards point.
Logan van Beek to Ishan Kishan, Pitched up and on middle, Ishan Kishan comes forward and shovels it off the inner half of the bat past mid-wicket. Noah Croes from deep square leg covers a lot of ground to his right and pushes the ball towards the converging fielder. Second triple of the game.
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Logan van Beek to Ishan Kishan, FOUR! You just cannot bowl there to Ishan Kishan! Logan van Beek lands this on a good length but strays onto the pads. Kishan brings his wrists into play and flicks it away through backward square leg for his first boundary.
Logan van Beek to Tilak Varma, A slower one, full and on middle, Tilak Varma uses his feet and tries to heave it across the line but gets an inside edge towards short fine leg for a single.
Logan van Beek to Tilak Varma, SIX! BANG! Welcome to the game, Logan van Beek. He serves this full and right in the slot, on off. Tilak Varma hits it through the line with a straight bat and over the bowler's head for a biggie.
It will be pace from the other end. Here's the right-arm quick, Logan van Beek.
Aryan Dutt to Tilak Varma, Sloppy fielding and India are up and running! Dragged back and around off, Tilak Varma stabs it out towards extra cover. The fielder dives to his left but fails to read the spin on the ball and lets it through, but his partner helps him out by chasing it down to save the boundary. Three taken.
Aryan Dutt to Tilak Varma, Oh, trying to be innovative but not effective! Aryan Dutt sees the batter change his stance and fires this down the leg side. Tilak Varma goes for the reverse sweep but fails to reach out for it.
Aryan Dutt to Tilak Varma, Pushed through quicker, short again, on off, Tilak Varma pats it to the right of the bowler.
Fifth duck of the year for Abhishek Sharma, third at this World Cup. Who would have thought, given all the spotlight on him coming into this tournament, that he would finish the group stage without a single run on the board? Tilak Varma is in at number 3.
Aryan Dutt to Abhishek Sharma, OUT! BOWLED'EM! Would you believe it? Third duck in this World Cup for the number one-ranked T20I batter. Aryan Dutt bowls this flatter, shortish and on middle, goes with the arm and skids through as well. Abhishek Sharma backs away and has a heave across the line but misses it completely and the ball crashes into the leg stump. He cannot believe it, and wearing Mohammed Siraj's jersey also cannot buy him a run in this tournament.
Aryan Dutt to Abhishek Sharma, Arm ball, follows the batter into the leg side. Abhishek Sharma has not much room to work with and pushes it to cover.
Aryan Dutt to Abhishek Sharma, Aryan Dutt starts with a floated delivery, short and on middle. Abhishek Sharma stays back and punches it to extra cover.
Right then, time to get the show on the road. Amidst the sea of blue in the stands, there are splashes of orange scattered around, with Dutch fans making their presence felt. Scott Edwards and his men stride out to the centre. The Dutch players have taken their positions on the field, but they await the two Indian openers. Abhishek Sharma seems to be having an issue with his kit. Ishan Kishan is waiting on the sidelines. Abhishek finally walks out wearing Mohammed Siraj's jersey. The Netherlands are starting with spin in the form of Aryan Dutt. Dutt to Abhishek. Here we go!
The giant flags of the two nations have been unfurled, and it is time for the national anthems. Suryakumar Yadav and Scott Edwards lead their respective sides out along with the mascots. It will be the Dutch national anthem first, followed by that of India.
India captain Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and opted to bat against the Netherlands in their T20 World Cup Group A clash on Wednesday.India are coming off a massive 61-run win over Pakistan which also cemented their place in the Super Eights. The Netherlands had lost to the USA by a huge 93-run margin in their last outing.India made two changes, resting vice-captain Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav and bringing in Washington Sundar and Arshdeep Singh."We are going to bat first. Looks a good surface, we practiced here last night, there was a little bit of dew, so hopefully we get runs on the board and try and defend it because we're going to play the game on a similar strip 2 or 3 days later, so why not put bowlers under a little bit of pressure," Suryakumar Yadav said during the toss."(Happy with how things have gone?) Absolutely, I mean, the mood in the camp is amazing. Boys are turning up really nicely, and the brand of cricket which I want them to play, I think they're responding it really well. (new performer in every game) Every game there's someone or the other raising their hand, taking the fight out, so it's good to see. Hopefully a new Man of the Match tonight and then we go into the Super 8. We have two changes - Arshdeep comes in for Kuldeep, Axar is resting and Washington comes in," he said.The Netherlands made one change to their side, bringing in Noah Croes for Fred Klaassen."Yeah, we would (have batted). Also looks like pretty good wickets. (what are you looking for from this game?) Obviously, yeah, playing in India is always an awesome experience. We feel like we've played a lot of good cricket. We've probably missed a couple of chances. So, yeah, for us, it's just about finishing our campaign well," Netherlands captain Scott Edwards said."(What are the areas you are trying to improve?) Probably all over the streak now, I think. You know, in patches we've been good with the bat and with the ball. But, yeah, just looking to put in a complete performance today. We have one change - Noah Croes comes in for Fred Klaassen," he said. Teams:India: Ishan Kishan (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy.Netherlands: Michael Levitt, Max O'Dowd, Bas de Leede, Colin Ackermann, Scott Edwards (c&wk), Zach Lion-Cachet, Roelof van der Merwe, Logan van Beek, Aryan Dutt, Kyle Klein, Noah Croes.
PITCH REPORT - Former England captain, Nasser Hussain is near the deck. He mentions that it is a pretty good evening for cricket. Adds that there is a gentle breeze blowing across the ground and the humidity is low, which should make for comfortable playing conditions. He informs that it is a black soil surface and it is rock hard. Nasser says that the square boundaries measure 60 metres on one side and 69 metres on the other, with the straight boundary being 70 metres. Former Kiwi wicketkeeper Katey Martin joins him, and she straightaway calls it a batter's paradise. Katey jokes that she and Nasser would have scored plenty of runs on this track. Further says the surface is expected to get even better for batting as the evening wears on, with dew likely to settle in. She informs that this is the second-highest scoring ground of this World Cup. Martin observes a few cracks, but she feels that they are not going to matter much. She shares that pace off, fuller balls have been effective here in Ahmedabad, with 60 per cent of the wickets for seamers falling to balls being under 125 kph.
Need to improve in all areas - The Dutch captain, Scott Edwards, says that they would have batted first as well and it looks like a good wicket. Adds that they have played good cricket in patches and probably need to improve in all areas. Edwards mentions that it has been special playing here in India in front of such large crowds. Says that they have come close but just did not make the close moments count. Informs that they have made one change.
Mood in the camp is amazing - The Indian captain, Suryakumar Yadav feels that this is a good surface. Further says that last night, there was a little bit of dew, and they want to take the challenge of defending the total with a clash against South Africa coming up here after a few days. SKY shares that the boys are turning up nicely and that they are playing the brand of cricket he wants them to play. Tells that in every game, there is someone raising their hand and hopes that there is a different player of the match award winner tonight. Informs that Axar Patel has been rested and he is replaced by Washington Sundar. They have one more change with Arshdeep Singh coming in for Kuldeep Yadav.
Netherlands (Playing XI) - Michael Levitt, Max O'Dowd, Bas de Leede, Colin Ackermann, Scott Edwards (C/WK), Zach Lion-Cachet, Noah Croes (In place of Fred Klaassen), Logan van Beek, Roelof van der Merwe, Aryan Dutt, Kyle Klein.
India (Playing XI) - Ishan Kishan (WK), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (C), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar (In place of Axar Patel), Arshdeep Singh (In place of Kuldeep Yadav), Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah.
India vs Netherlands Live Score: 'Not overanalysing Abhishek Sharma’s form' - Sitanshu Kotak
India’s premier all-rounder Hardik Pandya has revisited the turning point of his career, casting his mind back to the dramatic final over against Bangladesh in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2016 that first thrust him into the national spotlight.Tasked with defending 11 runs in the last over, Pandya held his nerve in a finish that remains one of the most unforgettable moments of that tournament. Nearly a decade on, he is now part of India’s squad as a senior figure in their title defence. He believes that night in 2016 laid the foundation for everything that followed.“I think all these moments made me the kind of person I am. There were early challenges in my international career where I had to hold my ground and back myself. It was important to have belief. In cricket, even if there is just a 1% chance, the game is not over until the last ball of the match is bowled.“That Bangladesh match was a classic example of that. One ball before the wicket, the batter had started celebrating as if the game was over. He was celebrating right in front of me, and it was all happening before my eyes.“When things turn around like that, they create wonderful memories. Every time I see it, I think about how, in the early days, that was one of the challenges in my life and one of the moments in my career that shaped Hardik Pandya. I have had many more moments like this, but my journey started with that one,” Pandya said on JioStar.Pandya also described himself as a bowling-first “cricket geek”, admitting that he has not yet fully unlocked his batting ability.After the most recent IPL season, he realised he wanted to push towards his true ceiling as a batter. He also acknowledged the role his girlfriend, Mahieka, played in helping him reconnect with the joy of the sport.“I think the child in me, the cricket geek, who is always there, was focusing more on my skill set as a bowler. I have always had a lot of confidence in my bowling, but batting was very close to my heart.“After the last IPL, I realised that I really wanted to play to Hardik's full potential. I think until now, I haven't utilised more than 40 per cent of my batting potential, and that is genuinely honest feedback.“What I know as a cricketer, what I imagine, what I manifest, and how I practice, have not translated into performance by more than 40 per cent. I took some time in my life to figure out how to bring that out. That's when Mahieka came into my life.“We started talking about the sport and how to bring that child back. She helped me rediscover that excitement for the game that I always had. I went behind the scenes, worked really hard, and had a good amount of batting sessions.“There were days when I was on the ground for six to seven hours. When I went to the NCA, I would go at 3:30 in the afternoon and finish at 12:30 at night. I was usually the last person to leave and shut the lights off,” he added.Those marathon sessions at the NCA in Bengaluru, stretching from mid-afternoon until well past midnight, underline Pandya’s determination to turn potential into performance as he enters the next phase of his international journey.