To begin with, the India-Netherlands contest is a no-brainer, at least in the context of the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023, with the hosts riding on a eight-match unbeaten streak and already qualifying for the knockouts while the visitors are reeling at the bottom of the points tally, with the match merely being played as a formality.
For the Netherlands, their ambitions of qualifying for the 2025 Champions Trophy with a top-eight finish will likely rest on them beating India at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Sunday. However, it would be a Herculean task for the Dutch side, the only Associate nation at the World Cup and appear to be running out of steam after consecutive defeats.
India, meanwhile, have convincingly won eight games out of eight, flooring their opponents to secure the top spot in the group and a semi-final berth against the team that finishes fourth.
Although on paper, the clash appears to be one between David and Goliath, it would be unfair to completely underestimate the visitors, as the Netherlands have the skills to upset any side on their day. And they showed it when they upset South Africa earlier in the tournament and their victory over Bangladesh was equally impressive.
They will however need all their star players to be at their best to topple India, with the performances of Bas de Leede, Max O’Dowd, Logan van Beek and skipper Scott Edwards to be pivotal to their hopes.
As far as India is concerned, the team management might be tempted to rest a few of the star players to keep them fresh for the semifinals, and bring in players who have been warming the bench. In such a scenario, Ishan Kishan, Prasidh Krishna and Ravichandran Ashwin could get a look in for the contest.
Also with their opening partnership witnessing a minor glitch in the last few games, India will look to fine-tune that department going into the knockouts.
50th ODI ton for Kohli
With 543 runs under his belt so far in the tournament, former India skipper Virat Kohli will look to get past the 600-mark in a 50-over World Cup for the first time in his career. But more than anything, the fans will be expecting the prolific run-mashing to get to the landmark 50th ODI century.
The Delhi batter got to a record-equalling 49th ODI ton on his 35th birthday against the South Africans in Kolkata, and needs one more ton to get past the legendary Sachin Tendulkar. With India having already secured their place in the semifinals, the game against Netherlands could be the best platform to get to the 50th.
Weather updates
The match is likely to kick off in sunny and pleasant conditions and the temperature is likely to hover around 28 degrees with minimal (2%) probability of precipitation. However, the cloud cover could be significantly high at 70% and humidity will be around 48% and the dew point will be at 15°. The weather will clear out by evening and the temperature will range around 19°C with the cloud cover reducing to 56% which promises a full match.