Ind vs Ned: Netherlands opt to bat against India

NEW DELHI: Netherlands captain Peter Borren won the toss and chose to bat against India in their World Cup clash at Ferozeshah Kotla in New Delhi on Wednesday.

India have rested Munaf Patel and brought in Ashish Nehra.

Indian captain MS Dhoni said they would have batted first as the track is expected to go slow. But quickly added it is nice to get exposure for chasing runs. Regarding team change, he informed Nehra is back in the side in place of Munaf. Further he said that they would look to improve on their fielding and also added that they have to bowl well initially and in the Powerplay overs.

Dutch skipper Borren said that chasing has not been good for them and they will try to do the same thing that they did against England. Added they need to be disciplined in their bowling against the powerful Indian batting.

This match affords India just about the last chance to hammer out strategies and gameplans before big battles become the order of the day. After this tie, India play South Africa and West Indies, two formidable opponents, in their final group matches before the knock-outs begin.

India, who have eyes firmly fixed on the quarterfinal spot, would like to finish on top of the group to facilitate an 'easy' outing in the last eight. A victory over the Dutch, the underdogs, will serve that purpose nicely.

India are the only team who have yet to taste defeat in their group and that record is unlikely to be broken against the under-performing Dutch who have still to register a win.

A strong performance against the Dutch will not only give India a strong net run rate but also pave their way to the knockout round.

The only weak link for the Indians has been their bowling which has been exposed time and again.

India's frontline bowlers failed to find much success against a spirited Ireland and had it not been for a five-wicket haul by part-time spinner Yuvraj Singh, they could have been in trouble.

The home side are unlikely to be tested against the Netherlands, who ran England close in their opener, thanks to a sparkling 119 from Ryan ten Doeschate, but have since struggled.

The Dutch scored an impressive 292 against England but slumped to a huge 215-run defeat to the West Indies and lost by 231 runs against South Africa.

Teams:

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Capt.), Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Piyush Chawla, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra.

Netherlands: Peter Borren (Capt.), Eric Szwarczynski, Wesley Barresi, Tom Cooper, Ryan ten Doeschate, Alexei Kervezee, Bas Zuiderent, Tom de Grooth, Bradley Kruger, Mudassar Bukhari, Pieter Seelaar.

TOI