Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul both made centuries as World Cup hosts India geared up for the semi-finals with a crushing 160-run victory over the Netherlands; Watch India face New Zealand live on Wednesday from 8am on Sky Sports Cricket (8.30am start)
Saturday 25 May 2024 14:35, UK
India completed a flawless World Cup group stage by hammering the Netherlands by 160 runs in Bengaluru.
The hosts made it nine wins out of nine games after posting a huge 50-over total of 410-4, just three runs shy of their World Cup best against Bermuda in 2007.
Shreyas Iyer top-scored with an unbeaten 128 from 94 balls and KL Rahul completed his century in the final over before being dismissed for 102. Rahul reached his hundred in 62 balls - the fastest by an Indian batter at a World Cup - and his fourth-wicket partnership of 208 with Iyer took the game away from the Dutch.
Rohit Sharma (61), Shubman Gill (51) and Virat Kohli (51) also went past fifty as India claimed another World Cup record. It was the first time the top five of any team have all got half-centuries in the same innings in the competition - and only the third time in the history of ODI cricket.
Kohli appeared well set to break the record of 49 ODI hundreds that he shares with countryman Sachin Tendulkar, only to miss a straight delivery from spinner Roelof van der Merwe and having to content himself with overtaking South Africa's Quinton de Kock as the tournament's leading run-scorer.
India were always in control on a flat wicket and the Netherlands were eventually dismissed for 250 from 47.5 overs.
Teja Nidamanuru (54) and Sybrand Engelbrecht (45) offered resistance as Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja took two wickets apiece, while Kohli claimed his ODI wicket since 2014.
India captain Rohit Sharma: "Since we started the tournament it was always about taking one game at a time and playing that game well. 11 games in all if you go all the way, that's a lot of games. It's important for us to break it down and focus on one game and play it well.
"That's what everyone did. You play in different conditions, you've got to adapt and that's what we did. We're very pleased with how we played in these nine games. We've been very clinical from game one until today. That's because different individuals have stepped up at different points."
Netherlands captain Scott Edwards: "India showed pure class with the bat. I thought we bowled well in periods. They soaked up the pressure. They're going to be a hard side to beat in the rest of the tournament. As for ourselves, we're a young side still and it's about growth for us."
The semi-final line-up is now confirmed, with India playing fourth-placed New Zealand in Mumbai on Wednesday before Australia take on South Africa in Kolkata a day later. Build-up of those matches begins on Sky Sports Cricket from 8am on those days, with matches starting at 8.30am.
Watch every match from the Cricket World Cup live Sky Sports, including the final in Ahmedabad on Sunday November 19. Stream the tournament without a contract through NOW.
