India earn hard-fought 5-wkt win over The Netherland

New Delhi (PTI) India overcame some anxious
moments before suppressing a spirited The Netherlands with a
nervy five-wicket victory in a World Cup Group-B match and
virtually secure a quarter-final berth here on Wednesday.
After restricting the minnows to a modest 189, the
fancied hosts started off with a flourish but lost wickets in
a heap before scampering home with 81 balls to spare in what
turned out to be another hard-fought win for the hosts.
Yuvraj Singh (51 not out) played another responsible
knock to guide the team to the victory target on a slow
Ferozeshah Kotla track.
Virender Sehwag (39), Gautam Gambhir (28) and Sachin
Tendulkar (27) got the starts but failed to make it count.
With this win, India consolidated their position atop the
points table with seven points and were almost certain to
qualify to the quarter finals from the group.
Yuvraj hit a boundary to not only notch up his half
century but also bring about the victory, sending a near
capacity crowd at the Kotla into a frenzy.
India will now travel to Nagpur to play their next match
against South Africa on Saturday.
But it was not a very convincing performance by the
Indians as they were made to sweat for the win by the minnows
who had lost all their earlier matches by huge margins.
Chasing the paltry target, Sehwag spanked the first ball
off pacer Mudassar Bukhari to the mid wicket boundary to
launch the Indian innings with a flourish. Tendulkar opened
his account in similar fashion by glancing Ryan ten Doeschate
to the fence.
Tendulkar completed 2000 runs in the World Cup in grand
style as he spanked ten Doeschate for three consecutive
boundaries to entertain the crowd.
In the next over, it was Sehwag's turn to massacre the
Dutch bowling as he blasted Bukhari for three boundaries,
although he could have been caught by Eric Szwarczynski at mid
on. He was on 16 then.
With runs coming much too easily, Dutch captain Peter
Borren introduced left-arm spinner Peter Seelaar in the sixth
over of the innings.
The Indian openers put on 69 brisk runs before Seelaar
provided the breakthrough for the Dutch by getting the prized
scalp of Sehwag, whose 26-ball 39 contained five fours and two
sixes.
Sehwag went for a cut but only succeeded in hitting the
ball straight to Alexei Kervezee at point.
The Indians promoted Yusuf Pathan to the number three
slot and the lanky all-rounder got into the act immediately by
clobbering Peter Borren for a six.
Tendulkar's belligerence did not last long as he became
Seelaar's second victim. He went down the track for a big shot
but could not control it and Bradley Kruger took a well-judged
catch at long off. His 22-ball 27 was laced with six
boundaries.
The hosts suffered a big jolt a few balls later when
Pathan also returned to the pavilion, offering a simple return
catch to Seelaar for his third wicket. Virat Kohli also joined
him soon.
From a comfortable 69 for no loss, the hosts suddenly
slumped to 99 for four leaving the crowd stunned.
Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj then steadied the innings to
some extent with a 40-run partnership before Bhukhari broke
their association by castling the left hander.
Earlier, three Dutch batsmen -- Eric Szwarczynski (28),
Wesley Barresi (26) and Tom Cooper (29) -- got the starts but
could not translate them into big knocks as the minnows lost
wickets at regular intervals on a placid Ferozeshah Kotla
track.
The opening pair put on 56 runs but the other batsmen
succumbed rather tamely against a disciplined Indian bowling
attack which exploited the conditions well. The visitors could
have been in bigger trouble had it not been for Borren's
36-ball 38 and Muddasar Bukhari's (21) late onslaught.
Zaheer Khan was the pick of the Indian bowlers with 3 for
20 while Yuvraj (2/43) and Piyush Chawla (2/47) were the other
wicket-takers.
The Dutch openers put on 56 runs for the first wicket
before leg spinner Chawla provided the breakthrough for the
Indians by getting rid of Szwarczynski much to the delight of
the home crowd.
Chawla, who has been a trifle disappointing in the
previous matches, got the wicket with a googly as the batsman
tried to cut the ball but only to see his stumps being knocked
down.
The Netherlands lost their second wicket just eight runs
later with part-timer Yuvraj claiming his 100th ODI wicket
when he accounted for Barresi who seemed to be quite
comfortable at the crease.
Barresi was hit on the pads with a delivery that
straightened after pitching and umpire Steve Davis had no
hesitation in ruling him out.
Barresi asked for a review and there was no change in the
decision. The only bone of contention was whether the ball hit
the bat before hitting the pad. Replays show that it hit his
the front pad first.
Yuvraj struck for his team again by dismissing
Netherlands' key batsman Ryan ten Doeschate (11) who failed to
time his shot properly and Zaheer took a well-judged catch at
long off just a few metres within the boundary.
Then it was Nehra's turn to take the spotlight as he got
rid of Tom Cooper with a brilliant off-cutter and captain
Dhoni made no mistake with the edge.
Bas Zuiderent, who joined the action after Cooper's
dismissal, did not trouble the scorers much as Zaheer sent him
back to the pavilion with a gem of a delivery which came in
sharply and trapped the batsman in front of the wicket.
Zuiderant went for a review and the third umpire also
vindicated Davis' original decision.
A few minutes later, Tom de Grooth was run out going for
a suicidal run and the Dutch innings lay in tatters.
From a rather comfortable 99 for two, the Dutchmen
suddenly slumped to a precarious 108 for six as India's pace
bowlers made a much better impression with the old ball.
Captain Borren hit some lusty shots in the fag end of the
innings to take the Netherlands score beyond the 150-run mark
which looked doubtful at one stage.