🏏Cricket World Cup 2023: Match #6: Netherlands vs NewZealand 9 Oct 🏏

🏏Cricket World Cup 2023: Match #6: Netherlands vs New Zealand at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad on 9th of October 2023 at 2:00 PM IST🏏

Can Netherlands bring high-flying New Zealand back down to earth?

No Williamson yet but Southee and Ferguson are likely to be fit; for Netherlands Van Beek might miss out due to a hamstring injury

Hand on heart, how many expected New Zealand to trounce England the way they did in the opening fixture of the 2023 World Cup? But then that's what New Zealand do. Fly under the radar, without making much of a splash, but deliver when it matters.

And they didn't do it the conventional way. With Tim Southee and Lockie Ferguson out injured, New Zealand opted for just three frontline bowlers, four part-timers and no Ish Sodhi. Yet they restricted the power-packed England batting unit to 282 for 9. Then, despite no Kane Williamson, they needed just 36.2 overs to wipe out the target.

As New Zealand now move to Hyderabad for match No. 2 of their World Cup campaign to face Netherlands, they will still be without Williamson, but Ferguson and Southee are likely to be fit and available according to head coach Gary Stead. Williamson, meanwhile, is targeting a return in New Zealand's third game against Bangladesh.

If numbers are anything to go by, New Zealand definitely have the upper hand going into the clash. They have met Netherlands four times in ODIs, winning on all four occasions - three of those games by a margin of 100-plus runs. The most recent ODI series between the two teams in 2022 went New Zealand's way by a 3-0 margin.

But it will be silly to take Netherlands lightly. Not after their stellar run at the World Cup Qualifier where they finished second ahead of three Full Member nations and certainly not after troubling Pakistan in their first outing. They did fall short but were no pushovers.

Netherlands have another chance come Monday but have their task cut out against a side raging with confidence. For the record, New Zealand have never lost a World Cup game - ODI or T20I - against an Associate nation in their history.

But streaks and stats are meant to be broken and changed. Netherlands showed spunk in their first game. Also, they have been in Hyderabad longer than New Zealand and know the conditions better. Now to translate all that into results and take a step towards the semi-final spot they had their eye on ahead of the tournament.

Tag Credit: Sutapasima

Pitch Report:

Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium’s cricket pitch is fairly well-rounded which favours both bowlers and batters. The pitch is initially good for bowling as it helps pacers with early seam and swing. As the match progresses and the batters start to settle, the pitch becomes more conducive to scoring runs. The average first-innings score at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium is 291 runs.

Weather Report:

The weather in Hyderabad is expected to have clear skies on October 9. There’s only a 3 per cent chance of precipitation so rainfall should be a problem at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. The temperatures could be hovering around 33 to 34 degrees Celsius during the day and around 23 degrees at night. Humidity should remain around 53 percent to 70 percent on Monday. Wind speeds are going to range from 6 to 7 km/h.

Pitch and conditions

The Hyderabad surface has historically been a high-scoring one with an average first-innings score of 288. The pitch had a light biscuit brown tinge to it on the eve of the game with no grass whatsoever. It had a nice sheen on it under the lights.

The temperature should revolve around the mid-30s in the afternoon while the evenings will be slightly cooler. There are no chances of rain.

Don't forget to submit your predictions for match 6.

Toss prediction before 1:30 PM IST and rest of the predictions before 2:00 PM IST.

All the very best to everyone!

Tag Credit: Sutapasima

Four days in, it's safe to say that it's been a slow start to the World Cup. All the 10 participating teams have taken a shot at putting their skills on display, but not to much interest from the crowds. The attention instead has been hogged by issues surrounding cricket and not cricket itself. Less than 9,000 people turned up for Hyderabad's opening game, and it's unlikely that New Zealand and Netherlands could help much with the swell of the crowd on Monday afternoon.

If affable underdogs could pull crowds, there could be some interest. But that's not the case. New Zealand, for once without the inescapable "underdog" tag, have stamped their cricketing significance in the tournament already. New Zealand, despite the absence of Kane Williamson and Tim Southee and even Lockie Ferguson, breezed past England's challenge in the tournament opener. It wasn't a one-off show of dominance. They had cruised to a comfortable win in the 346-run chase only a week earlier against Pakistan in the first warm-up game in Hyderabad.

With their low-risk game, one that's natural to their blueprint, they have reaped greater rewards on flat tracks that even teams like England and Pakistan didn't with a slightly higher-risk approach. If the success continues, it could prompt other teams to follow this model sooner than later.

Netherlands, on the other hand, may have lost their opening game by a margin of 81 runs, but they provided a scare at various points in the contest against Pakistan and threatened to beat them. In only their first international game in four months, the Scott Edwards-led side has shown glimpses of being giant killers on their day. While their bowling was impressive - even if inconsistent - their batting unit, despite being their strength, has been stuttering lately. They would want a quick fix to their that.

There's unlikely to be much fanfare around Hyderabad's second-last game of the tournament, but there is a promise of some exciting cricket coming.

Team News:

New Zealand

The two-time runner-up will be without the services of Kane Williamson in the second game. The New Zealand skipper, who featured in both the warm-up clashes, continues to recover from the ACL tear that he suffered earlier this year in the IPL. Meanwhile, Lockie Ferguson and Tim Southee are set to be available for the clash.

Tactics & Strategy: New Zealand would look to impose themselves early with the ball against Netherlands' explosive openers. Trent Boult averages 11.94 in the first 10 overs while Matt Henry averages 20.16.

Likely XI: Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman/James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult

Netherlands

Despite the big loss, there may not be enough reason for Netherlands to tinker with their line-up. At most, a case would be made for Wesley Barresi instead of Colin Ackermann or Teja Nidamanuru.

Tactics & Strategy: The Total Cricket concept has allowed Netherlands to bat deep and have as many as eight bowing options in its XI. The hit-the-deck bowlers found some success with the steep bounce in the previous game and would look to exploit similar conditions against New Zealand as well.

Likely XI: Vikramjeet Singh, Max O'Dowd, Colin Ackermann, Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Scott Edwards, Saqib Zulfiqar, Logan van Beek, Roelof van der Merwe, Aryan Dutt, Paul van Meekeren

When: Monday, October 9, 2023, 2:00 PM IST

Where: New Zealand vs Netherlands, Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad

What to expect: The pitches in Hyderabad have been flat and have assisted easy run-scoring even as neither Pakistan nor Netherlands could take advantage of the conditions in their opening game. There was a bit of assistance for the spinners in the previous game.

Stats and trivia

• Devon Conway has scored 307 runs in four ODI innings in India. He averages 102.3 in the country with a strike rate of 121 and has two centuries to his name
• Devon Conway averages 274 against spin in ODIs this year.
• Matt Henry has picked up the most wickets for New Zealand in ODIs since the start of 2022 - 35 in 21 innings at 26.20.
• Max O'Dowd and Vikramjit Singh are one and two in Netherlands' run-charts in ODIs this year.

Supporting New Zealand today 

In the spotlight: Devon Conway and Vikramjit Singh

Devon Conway's 2023 has been all or nothing. In 11 innings this year, he has stacked up 601 runs in 11 innings at 66.77 with four centuries and a fifty. But in the other six innings, Conway has failed to breach the 20-run mark even once. The best bet for Netherlands will be to see the back of Conway quite early because when he gets set, it's usually for the long haul. Easier said than done, though.

Vikramjit Singh has been Netherlands' rock at the top of the order this year. Their highest run-getter at the World Cup qualifiers with 326 runs in eight innings at 40.75, he followed it up with 52 on ODI World Cup debut. The left-hander has a solid technique and more importantly a lot of time in his hands. He'll want to go one better than what he managed in the game against Pakistan.

What they said:

It's a good surface. There was something for the bat and ball. If you played well on there you could score runs. We do have a bit more intel. We've played on the surface, obviously not the same wicket, but we've got a bit of info on it. And it's a good cricket wicket. Boundaries are pretty even, and there is a bit of turn. There's a bit of movement for the seamer. So, if you play good cricket, you can reap the rewards - Roelof van der Merwe, Netherlands all-rounder

The mood is very neutral. Obviously, we enjoyed the first win incredibly much, but obviously with the tournament being such a quick turnaround, we try to keep things as neutral as possible, not get too high when we win and not get too low when we lose. And I think that's the key for us throughout this competition - Glenn Phillips, New Zealand batter