Pune, Nov 9: Netherlands believe they can pull off an upset win against an in-form India with all-rounder Teja Nidamanuru saying “it’s a game of cricket and funnier things have happened”.
Hosts India are the only unbeaten side in the tournament having collected eight wins from as many games.
In contrast, Netherlands, the only Associate team in the tournament, are languishing at the bottom of the points table after their 160-run loss to England on Wednesday.
“It’s a game of cricket right. So, it could be possible (defeating India). We play our brand of cricket. We do what we do well. We’ve got some great manoeuvres of the ball. We’ve got guys who can play spin well.
“We’ve also got guys who can take wickets. It really just obviously you need a bit of luck. There’s no doubt that they’re a very strong team and they’ve been playing very good cricket. But funnier things have happened in the game,” Nidamanuru said at the post match press conference on Wednesday.
Netherlands, who qualified for the World Cup after a gap of 12 years, will conclude their campaign against India in Bengaluru on November 12.
“To arguably play the best team in the competition at the top of the table is something that we’re very excited by and it’s another opportunity for us,” said Nidamanuru, who scored an unbeaten 41 off 34 balls against England.
“Every time we step on the park, we’re trying to showcase our skills and do the best that we can, especially being at the World Cup and coming through the journey that we’ve done.
“We don’t take any game for granted and definitely looking forward to getting out there on Sunday against India.” Netherlands had stunned a high-flying South Africa before registering a win against Bangladesh. However, the Orange Army have endured back-to-back losses and are out of the semifinal race.
“Of course, it’s disappointing to be in the last place. Our objective to come to the World Cup was to be in a position to play knockout cricket and as wild or as brave as that sounds.
“It’s really important to have aspiration and it’s really important to have something to aim for so – if you don’t aim for that you might you might get there and which would be a good result, but if you aim for here and you don’t get anywhere, that’s also not ideal,” Nidamanuru added. (PTI)
