Key events
39th over: India 274-3 (Rahul 36, Shreyas 65) An arm-wheeling van der Merwe roars in sorrow that no-one has swallowed an impossible chance, as Rahul cuts between keeper and slip. Four.
38th over: India 266-3 (Rahul 29, Shreyas 64) KL Rahul fires a single into the boot of van Meekeren, then a drunk punch for four over deep midwicket.
37th over: India 257-3 (Rahul 22, Shreyas 62) KL Rahul tucks into a full toss from van der Merwe, sweeping it for four. Six off the over, as the Dutch, and the crowd, wait for the all-out-attack of the final ten.
Ali on Rob Key, who puts his hand up and says mea culpa.
36th over: India 251-3 (Rahul 17, Shreyas 61) The non striker’s stumps are broken for the third time in the day, this time by Rahul’s straight drive. Another wide from de Leede, but also three dots. Shreyas dances wide of leg stump and lofts over extra cover for four.
35th over: India 244-3 (Rahul 16, Shreyas 56) A wristy four from Rahul.
Fifty for Shreyas
34th over: India 235-3 (Rahul 10, Shreyas 54) Shreyas, with military moustache, pulls de Leede, navel level, dismissively to the boundary boards. Rahul drives , with high elbow for single. And then another four, sent, like a morning kiss, through extra cover, for his fifty – off 48 balls. “Temperament,” is what Rahul Dravid apparently said was Shreyas’ USP.
33rd over: India 224-3 (Rahul 9, Shreyas 44) A pocketful of singles off Ackermann, and they take DRINKS.
32nd over: India 219-3 (Rahul 7, Shreyas 41) Better from de Leede, who pushes his long fringe out of his eyes. Think a young, blond, Tim Burgess. Just two from the over. In the dug out, Kohli wrings out his hands.
31st over: India 217-3 (Rahul 6, Shreyas 40) A nearly-but-not-quite four for Shreyas over the head of midwicket.
30th over: India 211-3 (Rahul 5, Shreyas 35) de Leede starts with a couple of wides, his radar slightly awry today. Serves up another juicily on leg stump and KL Rahul pulls for four, past a sprawling fielder.
“Happy Diwali,” and to you Krishnamoorthy.
”Let me clear up your confusion on Dravid wearing orange
The ruling party , the right wing nationalistic BJP leaves no opportunity to appropriate every popular thing . The training jerseys in orange is one such move.”
”You may like to look up the name if the stadium where the final will be hosted.” Ah, the Narendra Modi stadium. This is one habit I am happy the UK has not – yet – taken up.
29th over: India 200-3 (Rahul 0, Shreyas 31) Kohli stares at the broken stumps in disbelief, fumes at the blameless soil, before examining his bat and stalking away. Around the ground, people get up, stretch, scratch.
WICKET! Kohli b van der Merwe 51 (India 200-3)
From nowhere! Kohli, leans back to cut, misses, and the ball pings back the top of off stump. Silence drops like a winter night.
Fifty for Virat Kohli
28th over: India 198-2 (Kohli 50, Shreyas 30) Four, as Shreyas pulls van Meekeren, forward of square to the rope. And, finally, the Virat fifty as he pulls van Meekeren and takes the single. Pumps the bat briefly, grins, bumps gloves. 53 balls.
Apparently there are huge numbers of Virat Kohli cut-outs at the ground today. I can’t find any picures, but here are cut outs from Eden Gardens.
27th over: India 190-2 (Kohli 48, Shreyas 24) Van der Merwe, totters in, left arm over. Kohli content to pick the gaps and take the singles. An uncharacteristic misfield, a sprawling dive-over at short third man, brings two more runs to Shreyas. The crowd chant Koli’s name, as he faces the last ball on 48. No run, and he grins.
26th over: India 184-2 (Kohli 46, Shreyas 20) Shreyas swings at van Meekeren and misses. A single brings up the fifty partnership off 48 balls, another jogged single to make a pair. Then Shreyas tees off, four skewed up and over wide mid off. The batters are brought towels and drinks.
25th over: India 178-2 (Kohli 45, Shreyas 15) Nearly a run-out, as Shreyas drops his bat in the sprint for the second run. If de Leede’s throw had been flatter – he’d have on his way home. Carefully done by Dutt – just five from the over.
24th over: India 173-2 (Kohli 44, Shreyas 11) Kohli again, pulling, through the gap for four. Eye now fully in.
23rd over: India 165-2 (Kohli 37, Shreyas 10) Wow, pin-point accuracy from Kohli, threading a needle, a back foot running stitch through cover off Dutt. Delicious.
22nd over: India 158-2 (Kohli 31, Shreyas 9) Someone put coal in the Kohli engine – a bottom handed welly over mid on, followed immediately by a stylish four.
21st over: India 147-2 (Kohli 20, Shreyas 9) The Kohli swagger, as he kneels to sweep, sweetly, for four. But, they say on comms, the Dutch have done well as he is “forced to play a shot he doesn’t usually play.”
A parochial English county cricket/Thomas the tank engine tweet, but I always hated Henry being bricked up in the tunnel. And poor, ignored, Sam Hain.
20th over: India 140-2 (Kohli 14, Shreyas 8) de Leede continues. Shreyas picks up his first boundary through mid on. Shreyas and Kohli grin in the middle
19th over: India 133-2 (Kohli 13, Shreyas 3) In the crowd, the de Leede family sits en masse. Dutt returns, and has a much better time now that Rohit and Gill are gone. Beats the outside edge of Shreyas’ bat. Then Kohli’s, who pulls his head back in frustration and roars.
18th over: India 130-2 (Kohli 12, Shreyas 1) Virat gets his first boundary with a wristy flick – the sort of shot that sells Christmas aftershave. A wide, a single, then the wicket as a slightly-out-of-timing Rohit gets it wrong.
WICKET! Rohit c Barresi b de Leede 61 (India 129-2)
Cross seam from de Leede, Rohit goes high, higher, and the ball falls safely into the hands of long on. And with that, Bas takes the leading Dutch World Cup wicket taker mantle from dad Tim!
17th over: India 123-1 (Rohit 61, Kohli 7) For a micro-second, it looks as if Kohli has been dropped – but instead it is a great take in the covers. A shout for lbw against Kohli, then Rohit misses a cut, inelegantly. Van der Merwe wrinkles his brow. Drinks.
16th over: India 122-1 (Rohit 61, Kohli 6) de Leede’s turn in the lions’s den. Starts with a wide. Kohli drives – hard – just six inches short of the diving mid-off. And with Gill’s departure, the fireworks have temporarily quietened.
15th over: India 119-1 (Rohit 60, Kohli 5) Rohit sweeps -lazy-daisy- for SIX. Kohli happy to deal in singles.
Fifty for Rohit Sharma!
14th over: India 109-1 (Rohit 48, Kohli 2) Van Meekeren keeping Kohli quiet. He pulls over his shoulder, but without timing. Rohit keeps the sweeties coming – driving gorgeously rhrough the covers, 52 off 44 balls.
“No chance of Indian wickets being cheered unless you-know-who is coming in next.” writes Sahil Agarwal. “Indian crowds are infamous for being extremely myopic and partisan.. I agree about the post-wicket hush, it is so weird.”
13th over: India 104-1 (Rohit 48, Kohli 2) Kohli off the mark with a languid rock and drive. Then a textbook defensive, a single and he keeps the strike.
12th over: India 100-1 (Rohit 46, Kohli 0) Rohit calls for his pipe, and calls for his bowl and also some new gloves/bat. Van Meekeren’s first ball is a head high wide. Gill picks ups fifty with a wristy single, off just 30 balls, before holing out. Enter, the king.
WICKET! Gill c Nidamanuru b van Meekeren 51 (India 100-1)
Excellent catch, on one leg on the b of the boundary edge, as Gill pulls to wide fine leg.
11th over: India 95-0 (Rohit 44, Gill 49) The field spreads, and the Netherlands get some respite. van der Merwe leaks just four singles.
10th over: India 91-0 (Rohit 42, Gill 47) Van Meekren looks as if he wants to disappear into his beard, as Gill hoolas him over long-on for six. A brief pause for a couple of dots, then he pulls him, slightly cramped, forward of square for another four. End of the powerplay
9th over: India 79-0 (Rohit 42, Gill 35) Van der Merwe nearly creates a chance, as Rohit mistimes, skimming mid-on but reaching the boundary anyway. A breather for the Dutch – just six from the over
8th over: India 73-0 (Rohit 37, Gill 34) Van Meeken gets the gig. Gill breaks the non-strikers stumps again, driving so straight, as Rohit dives disgruntledly for safety. Gill scythes at the next, inelegantly, but it falls safely. And then six from the last ball – low and vicious over midwicket.
7th over: India 64-0 (Rohit 36, Gill 26) Rohit – biff – through the covers, then a straight drive into the top tier of the stadium. He now has the most ODI sixes in a calendar year – 59 if you were asking. Colin Ackerman’s first over not stemming the flow.
6th over: India 53-0 (Rohit 25, Gill 26) Anything Rohit can do… Gill shovels van Beek for two fours and a six – over deep backward square leg – slightly confusing to distinguish what is in realtime and what is replay as the television merges the two.
5th over: India 37-0 (Rohit 25, Gill 10) Dutt’s most economical over: four dots … and two boundaries, a divine Rohit off drive and a powerful cut.
4th over: India 29-0 (Rohit 17, Gill 10) Just two singles and a leg bye – and a blow in the box to Rohit. The physio runs out with his box of tricks, and Rohit plays on.
3rd over: India 26-0 (Rohit 16, Gill 9) Dutt again, and Rohit powers a cut off the first ball for four. Then a series of gentle prods until Gill decides to hammer the ball out of the ground – missing only by an advertising board at the top of the stadium.
“Interesting selections by England, and possibly already record breakers. This is surely the biggest number of “nouns as surnames” in any squad ever “ says Jeremy Boyce.
“But