ICC CWC: "Beating SA no upset, match against Australia just another game of cricket," says Netherlands' Vikramjit
Oct 23, 2023
New Delhi [India], October 23 : Ahead of his side's ICC Cricket World Cup match against five-time champions Australia, Netherlands opening batter Vikramjit Singh said that their side's previous victory over South Africa was not an upset and added that the match against the Aussies is just another game of cricket for them to play.
Australia and Netherlands will lock horns against each other at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Australia is back in the top four after wins over Sri Lanka and Pakistan and had earlier registered losses to India and South Africa. Netherlands on the other hand, is at seventh with a win over in-form South Africa and three losses to Pakistan, New Zealand and Sri Lanka. But the win-loss ratio does not fully reflect the fight put up by the Dutch side against top teams, in both batting and bowling.
Ahead of the match, Vikramjit told ANI about his thoughts on team's performances in the tournament, "I am extremely happy with our performances. Of course, we have played some amazing cricket at the moment. We are trying to win our games. Its about keeping a level-head, going out there and playing."
The opening batter spoke about the match with Australia saying that it is just another game of cricket for them. He also expressed confidence in his team outdoing other teams in upcoming games.
"For us, beating South Africa was not an upset, it was just another game of cricket. We were a better team that day and you are going to see more of that. Australia are five-time champions, we have seen how they have played their cricket this year and in this tournament and for us, it is just another game of cricket to play," said Vikramjit.
On performances of key players like skipper Scott Edwards (124 runs in four matches at an average of 41.33 with one fifty) and all-rounders Bas de Leede (93 runs in four innings at an average of 23.25 with one fifty and seven wickets including 4/62 against Pakistan) and Logan van Beek (97 runs in three matches at an average of 48.50 with one fifty and four wickets, including 3/60 against South Africa), Vikramjit said that these players are consistent and perform well whenever team needs them.
"They are all consistent. They perform whenever we need them. This is what you need in a team, we need all our players to perform well. That is the way we play our cricket, total cricket," said Vikramjit, who has scored 70 runs in four matches, including one half-century against Pakistan.
Netherlands squad: Scott Edwards (c), Max O'Dowd, Bas de Leede, Vikram Singh, Teja Nidamanuru, Paul van Meekeren, Colin Ackermann, Roelof van der Merwe, Logan van Beek, Aryan Dutt, Ryan Klein, Wesley Barresi, Saqib Zulfiqar, Shariz Ahmad, Sybrand Engelbrecht.
Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Steve Smith, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis, Sean Abbott, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitch Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa, Mitchell Starc.
