The first-ever T20 International between India and the Netherlands will begin on Thursday night at the Sydney Cricket Ground when Rohit Sharma and Scott Edwards walk out for the toss. The fact that it comes at the Super 12 stage of a T20 World Cup must be especially pleasing to the Dutch, who are no strangers to this competition but had not previously been drawn in the same group as their unquestionably more famous rivals.

The teams are coming into their second match of the season with different results. India just defeated Pakistan on the final ball, while the Netherlands lost to Bangladesh the day after by nine runs. This is despite the fact that they had a chance to win the game after holding their opponents to 144 for eight.

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While that looks reasonably encouraging on paper, Netherlands will understand that it is not realistic to expect India to be so basking in the afterglow of Pakistan’s victory, that they will be ripe for picking this time around. Instead, they will have to play their hearts out and hope that India can sustain a dramatic adrenaline let-down after the frenzied finish on Sunday.

SCG Pitch Report

The game is scheduled to take place at the iconic Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), and the weather is expected to be normal. However, according to weather forecasts, the skies will likely remain overcast for days before the game.

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Sydney’s weather is probably going to be good, and the game will not be affected by rain. A flurry of runs may be scored because, according to reports, the pitch will favour the batters. The pitch is likely to open up as the game goes on, favouring the team who will start batting later.

India, Netherlands Head to Head

India has played the Netherlands in two One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and has won both games. The two teams are going head-to-head for the first time in a T20I match.

Last 5 T20I matches (most recent from the left)

India: W, L, W, W, W

Netherlands: L, L, W, W, L