Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: How many ducks are too many ducks? India opener Abhishek Sharma might be asking himself as he was again dismissed for zero and failed to score even a single run in the last group-stage match of the T20 World Cup against the Netherlands on Wednesday. The left-handed batter was bowled on the third ball of the first over by Dutch off-spinner Aryan Dutt.Dutt pitched the ball at the back of a length on the middle and off stump, and it skidded in with the angle. Abhishek had a wild swipe at it, which was perhaps coming after the two dots, but missed it completely, and the ball hits the leg stump.
This was the third duck in a row for Abhishek in the T20 World Cup. The southpaw has endured a difficult T20 World Cup campaign so far. He began with a golden duck against the USA in India’s opening match and was later hospitalised in New Delhi due to a stomach infection, which ruled him out of the clash against Namibia. On his return against Pakistan on Sunday, he was dismissed for another duck.Earlier, India won the toss and elected to bat first against the Netherlands in their final group stage match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.FOLLOW LIVEThe Men in Blue, who have already qualified for the Super Eights, will be looking to end the league stage with four wins out of four matches, building momentum ahead of the next stage. The Netherlands, meanwhile, will be aiming for an upset in a tournament that has so far showcased strong performances from several associate cricket teams.Speaking at the toss, Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav confirmed two changes to the playing XI. Arshdeep Singh, the left-arm pacer, comes in for Kuldeep Yadav, while Axar Patel has been “rested” and Washington Sundar gets a game.Suryakumar said, “We are going to bat first. It looks like a good surface. We want to put runs on the board and put some pressure on the bowlers to defend the total. The mood in the camp is really good and they are playing the brand of cricket I want them to play. Every game, someone is putting their hand up and that is good to see. We have two changes – Arshdeep comes in for Kuldeep, Axar is resting and Washington comes in.”India (Playing XI): Ishan Kishan(w), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep SinghNetherlands (Playing XI): Michael Levitt, Max O’Dowd, Bas de Leede, Colin Ackermann, Scott Edwards (w/c), Zach Lion-Cachet, Roelof van der Merwe, Logan van Beek, Aryan Dutt, Kyle Klein, Noah Croes.
