Resurgent Australia face tenacious Netherlands in World Cup
Australia will look for another dominating show against a tenacious Netherlands in a World Cup match here on Wednesday. There is also a lot of optimism around Travis Head's return from hand injury after he hit the nets on Monday and Australia will hope to get his services against the Netherlands.
After a disappointing start to their campaign, the five-time champions turned it around with two solid performances against Sri Lanka and Pakistan but they know very well that they can ill-afford to take the Dutch lightly in what is turning out to be a World Cup of upsets.
The Netherlands have been one of the success stories of this showpiece event as they stunned an in-form South Africa at Dharamsala after returning to the World Cup following a 12-year hiatus.
However, beating Australia will take some doing.
The reasons behind Australia's turnaround include their top-order batting might, the return to form of spinner Adam Zampa and the consistent performances of pacers Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc.
The return to form of David Warner and Mitchell Marsh is good news for Australia as they can blow away any opponent with their sheer ruthless batting. A case in point is the 259-run opening partnership that the two shared against Pakistan.
Marsh has scored 351 runs at a strike rate of 108.3 in seven innings as an opener, grabbing the opportunity with both hands in place of an injured Head, while the ever-dependable Warner has looked in ominous touch.
