NEW DELHI, (Reuters) – India overcame mid-innings hiccups to beat the Netherlands by five wickets in a Group B match today to maintain their unbeaten run in the World Cup.
Chasing 190, Sachin Tendulkar (27) and Virender Sehwag (39) provided a brisk start before India lost five wickets and it took Yuvraj Singh’s mature 51 not out to steer them home in 36.3 overs.
“My job is to play in the middle overs responsibly and take the team through to the end,” said Yuvraj, who picked up his second successive man-of-the-match award after also picking up two wickets.
“I have been bowling well and it’s nice to contribute with the ball and on the field.”
His captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni applauded the all-rounder’s effort: “I think Yuvraj batted brilliantly in this game too to take us through.” Opting to bat first, the Netherlands had earlier put 189 runs on boards before losing all their wickets in 46.4 overs at the near-capacity Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium.
Eric Szwarczynski (28) and Wesley Barresi (26) provided a sedate 56-run opening stand and down the order, captain Peter Borren (38 off 36 balls) came up with a desperate knock to push the score but the 200-mark eventually eluded them.
In contrast, India’s chase got off to a rollicking start as Tendulkar and Sehwag matched each other shot for shot during their brisk 69-run stand.
Tendulkar hit Ryan ten Doeschate for a hat-trick of boundaries, to which Sehwag replied with three fours off Mudassar Bukhari in the next over.
India raced to the 50-mark in the seventh over and Sehwag celebrated it with a six off Bukhari and another off Pieter Seelaar (3-53) before left-arm spinner struck three quick blows to halt India’s rapid progress.
Sehwag looked in devastating form when the spinner had him caught at point in his second over to cut short the opener’s 26-ball blitz.
Tendulkar soon joined Sehwag in the hut and Seelaar’s glee at getting the scalp of international cricket’s most prolific batsman knew no bounds as he spread his arms and ran towards long off where Bradley Kruger had pouched the skier.
Four balls later, the spinner caught Yusuf Pathan off his own bowling as the Indian batsman could not make the most of his promotion in the batting order.
Borren removed Virat Kohli and Bukhari bowled Gautam Gambhir (28) but the upset the Netherlands were looking for did not materialise in the end.
