New Delhi: Bolstered by the revival of their batting firepower, a rejuvenated Australia will look for another dominating show against a tenacious Netherlands in a World Cup match here on Wednesday.
There is also a lot of optimism around Travis Head’s return from hand injury after he hit the nets on Monday and Australia will hope to get his services against the Netherlands.
After a disappointing start to their campaign, the five-time champions turned it around with two solid performances against Sri Lanka and Pakistan but they know very well that they can ill-afford to take the Dutch lightly in what is turning out to be a World Cup of upsets.
The Netherlands have been one of the success stories of this showpiece event as they stunned an in-form South Africa at Dharamsala after returning to the World Cup following a 12-year hiatus.
However, beating Australia will take some doing.
The reasons behind Australia’s turnaround include their top-order batting might, the return to form of spinner Adam Zampa and the consistent performances of pacers Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc.
The return to form of David Warner and Mitchell Marsh is good news for Australia as they can blow away any opponent with their sheer ruthless batting. A case in point is the 259-run opening partnership that the two shared against Pakistan.
Marsh has scored 351 runs at a strike rate of 108.3 in seven innings as an opener, grabbing the opportunity with both hands in place of an injured Head, while the ever-dependable Warner has looked in ominous touch.
But Australia will need to add firepower in their middle order, especially with Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne struggling at the moment.
Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoins haven’t exactly set things on fire with the bat but wicketkeeper batter Josh Inglis has been among the runs, scoring a crucial fifty against Sri Lanka.
If Head regains his place as an opener, Marsh will slip down to no. 3 spot and Labuschagne might miss out. Head also provides the team with a handy off-spin option and might provide that balance to the XI.
In bowling, Hazlewood has been successful in keeping things tight, Zampa strangled the middle order and returned with two four-wicket hauls in the last two matches which went a long way in getting the team back to winning ways.
Starc though continued his dream run of taking wickets in all World Cup matches and would fancy his chances after taking a hat-trick in their rain-hit abandoned warm-up game against the Dutch. But skipper Pat Cummins need to do more to lead from the front and produce those breakthroughs.
Spin will come into play at the Feroz Shah Kotla track, where Afghanistan tweakers dismantled England the other day.
The Dutch, on the other hand, have never beaten Australia in ODIs. They lost the two times they met way back in 2003 and 2007.
But the Orange Brigade as shown what they are capable of in the run-up to the World Cup and also during their sensational win over South Africa and a narrow loss to Sri Lanka in the last match.
Armed with a gang of steady all-rounders, the Netherlands have shown they are capable of winning but to have a consistent run they will need better execution, especially from the top-order and the bowling department.
While the likes of opener Max ODowd and Vikramjit Singh haven’t been able to give them a good start, the Netherlands have found someone or the other to take them to 200-plus scores in the tournament.
But they have bowled too many boundary balls and also floundered in the fielding department to undo their good work.
Bas de Leede, Aryan Dutt and PA van Meekeren have done most damage with the ball but will need support from others and better execution to tame their opposition.
All eyes will also be on the deteriorating air quality of the national capital, which has been a cause of concern during international and domestic fixtures in the past.
