Trelawny (Jamaica), March. 7 (PTI): Skipper Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar struck impressive half-centuries as India powered their way to a massive 182-run victory over minnows the Netherlands in their first warm-up game in the lead-up to the Cricket World Cup here.
Apart from setting the mood perfectly for the tournament proper, this match provided an opportunity to the Indians to acclimatise with the conditions in the Caribbean.
After setting an uphill target of 301 to win, the Indians bundled out their opponents only for 118 runs in 37.5 overs to script a convincing win yesterday.
Batting first, India were off to a good start with Sourav Ganguly and Virender Sehwag scoring 60 runs for the opening stand.
But the top order squandered the advantage due to poor shot selection and at one stage India were looking vulnerable at 82 for 3.
However, Dravid and Tendulkar batted sensibly to set the platform for a big total after the mini collapse.
The veteran duo steadied the innings and tried to gather runs at a decent pace, adding 116 runs for the fourth wicket.
Tendulkar's run-a-ball innings was attractive as he punished the inexperienced Dutch bowlers, belting five fours and two sixes during his knock of 61.
Dravid, who provided a solid support to Tendulkar, subtly switched to aggressive mode and played some entertaining shots. His 74 came off 92 balls and was studded with five boundaries and two lofty sixes.
However, Dutchman R ten Doeschate stole the show with his five-wicket haul followed by a gritty 31.
Doeschate, with his slow medium pace, delivered a double blow by scalping Ganguly (19) and Sehwag (28) in two successive overs.
Majority of the Indian batters threw away their wickets while going for big shots and the trend started with Ganguly, who committed the crime of pushing a wide ball on the off-side and hand out an easy catch to W F Stelling.
Sehwag perished to an sharp inswinger which knocked off his middle stump after rushing through the yawning gap between his bat and pad.
Robin Uthappa, who came after the fall of Ganguly, played some glorious shots before dragging a Darron Reekers delivery onto his stumps at his individual score of 20.
When Dravid and Tendulkar were going smoothly, it seemed they would guide India to a 300-plus total. But, Tendulkar was caught brilliantly by Dutch captain Luuv van Troost off Tim de Leede.
Dravid now took the responsibility of scoring quickly and in his bid to do so he was caught by Alexei Kervezee while playing a big shot off P Borren.
Within seven overs, India lost four more wickets thereby jolted their chance of getting a bigger total as they were restricted at 300 for 9.
Doeschate took the opportunity to snatch his prized five-for. Apart from Ganguly and Sehwag, he accounted for Yuvraj Singh (14), M S Dhoni (21) and Harbhajan Singh (0) in a dream preparation to his World Cup campaign.
After shining with the ball, ten Doeschate showed his resolve and skills with the bat and notched up 31 runs off 37 balls, laced with four hits to the fence.
Other than him, opener B Zuiderent (32 off 73) was the only one who could provide some resistance to the Indians.
The task to polish off the Netherlands batting line-up was cakewalk for the Indian bolwers, who rolled their arms mainly for having some practice before the crucial games ahead.
Taking advantage of the laxity to field 13 players (of which only 11 could bat), Dravid gave chance to five of his main bowlers -- Irfan Pathan, S Sreesanth, Munaf Patel, Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble -- to warm up.
But, the most successful of the Indian bowlers was part-timer Yuvraj Singh, who claimed four wickets conceding 12 runs.
The piece of news the team would have cherished most was the form of Irfan Pathan, who after his unbeaten breezy knock of 25 got down to swing the ball both ways and capture a wicket, which showed some signs of improvement.
India will take on West Indies in their next warm-up game on March 9.
Source : http://www.hindu.com
Apart from setting the mood perfectly for the tournament proper, this match provided an opportunity to the Indians to acclimatise with the conditions in the Caribbean.
After setting an uphill target of 301 to win, the Indians bundled out their opponents only for 118 runs in 37.5 overs to script a convincing win yesterday.
Batting first, India were off to a good start with Sourav Ganguly and Virender Sehwag scoring 60 runs for the opening stand.
But the top order squandered the advantage due to poor shot selection and at one stage India were looking vulnerable at 82 for 3.
However, Dravid and Tendulkar batted sensibly to set the platform for a big total after the mini collapse.
The veteran duo steadied the innings and tried to gather runs at a decent pace, adding 116 runs for the fourth wicket.
Tendulkar's run-a-ball innings was attractive as he punished the inexperienced Dutch bowlers, belting five fours and two sixes during his knock of 61.
Dravid, who provided a solid support to Tendulkar, subtly switched to aggressive mode and played some entertaining shots. His 74 came off 92 balls and was studded with five boundaries and two lofty sixes.
However, Dutchman R ten Doeschate stole the show with his five-wicket haul followed by a gritty 31.
Doeschate, with his slow medium pace, delivered a double blow by scalping Ganguly (19) and Sehwag (28) in two successive overs.
Majority of the Indian batters threw away their wickets while going for big shots and the trend started with Ganguly, who committed the crime of pushing a wide ball on the off-side and hand out an easy catch to W F Stelling.
Sehwag perished to an sharp inswinger which knocked off his middle stump after rushing through the yawning gap between his bat and pad.
Robin Uthappa, who came after the fall of Ganguly, played some glorious shots before dragging a Darron Reekers delivery onto his stumps at his individual score of 20.
When Dravid and Tendulkar were going smoothly, it seemed they would guide India to a 300-plus total. But, Tendulkar was caught brilliantly by Dutch captain Luuv van Troost off Tim de Leede.
Dravid now took the responsibility of scoring quickly and in his bid to do so he was caught by Alexei Kervezee while playing a big shot off P Borren.
Within seven overs, India lost four more wickets thereby jolted their chance of getting a bigger total as they were restricted at 300 for 9.
Doeschate took the opportunity to snatch his prized five-for. Apart from Ganguly and Sehwag, he accounted for Yuvraj Singh (14), M S Dhoni (21) and Harbhajan Singh (0) in a dream preparation to his World Cup campaign.
After shining with the ball, ten Doeschate showed his resolve and skills with the bat and notched up 31 runs off 37 balls, laced with four hits to the fence.
Other than him, opener B Zuiderent (32 off 73) was the only one who could provide some resistance to the Indians.
The task to polish off the Netherlands batting line-up was cakewalk for the Indian bolwers, who rolled their arms mainly for having some practice before the crucial games ahead.
Taking advantage of the laxity to field 13 players (of which only 11 could bat), Dravid gave chance to five of his main bowlers -- Irfan Pathan, S Sreesanth, Munaf Patel, Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble -- to warm up.
But, the most successful of the Indian bowlers was part-timer Yuvraj Singh, who claimed four wickets conceding 12 runs.
The piece of news the team would have cherished most was the form of Irfan Pathan, who after his unbeaten breezy knock of 25 got down to swing the ball both ways and capture a wicket, which showed some signs of improvement.
India will take on West Indies in their next warm-up game on March 9.
Source : http://www.hindu.com
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