India will be looking to make it nine in nine when they take on Netherlands in the last group-stage match of the ICC World Cup 2023 on Sunday, November 12. With India dominating the top spot and Netherlands struggling at the bottom, fans will be looking ahead to an entertaining game at Bengaluru's M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Rohit Sharma-led side have won their opening eight games to secure a semifinal qualification. There is not much at stake in the last group game but the Men in Blue will not take the Dutch side lightly. India's top-order has been in excellent form with Rohit and Virat Kohli dominating opponent bowlers and are likely to make a further difference against the Dutch side.
Ahead of the Netherlands game, India head coach Rahul Dravid talked about Rohit's contribution to India's campaign and also praised his leadership skills. The former captain highlighted Rohit's form at the top helping the team perform in the tricky situation.
"Rohit has certainly been a leader," Dravid said in the pre-match press conference on Saturday. "I think he's led by example both on and off the field. There have been some games where it could have been tricky for us, but the fact that he's been able to get us to those kinds of starts has literally cracked open the game. It's actually has made it look easy for us and certainly made it easier for the guys who followed in that (batting) department."
Dravid also added that Rohit's impressive starts have pushed other players to follow him with similar performances.
"We've talked about playing in a particular way. You cannot do that unless your leader buys in and shows by example. It's been terrific to see the way Rohit's done that. I think his captaincy has been fantastic. He's someone who's certainly got the respect of the group and the coaching staff," Dravid added.
Rohit has scored 442 runs in eight innings in this World Cup and his strike rate of 122.77 has been one of the biggest factors in India's sensational batting performance.
