Shreyas Iyer hits maiden World Cup century in 84 balls against the Dutch

Shreyas Iyer (Pic: AFP)

ICC World Cup 2023: Shreyas Iyer struck his first World Cup century to put India on course for a big total against the Netherlands in the last league match on Sunday.

Iyer stood out in an innings where all of India's top five batsmen hit 50-plus scores in Bengaluru after the hosts elected to bat first in their bid for a ninth win in nine matches. Iyer, 28, reached his ton, a fourth in ODI cricket, off 84 balls with nine fours and two sixes.

Meanwhile, Virat Kohli reached his 71st ODI fifty but was unable to push on for an all-time record 50th century in the format. Kohli surpassed South Africa's Quinton de Kock (591) as the leading batsman of the 2023 tournament with 594 runs before left-arm spinner Roelof van der Merwe bowled the star batsman for 51.

The Bengaluru crowd went silent after anticipating Kohli's 50th ODI ton after he equalled Sachin Tendulkar's record of 49 in the team's previous win over South Africa.

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Earlier, openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill reached the milestone of most hundred-run partnerships this year in ODIs. In 2023, Rohit and Shubman made hundred-run partnerships five times and held the top place on the list.

Afghanistan's Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz stand in second place with four 100+ partnerships. Sri Lanka's Dimuth Karunaratne and Pathum Nissanka hold the third place. The fourth place is held by Kusal Mendis and S Samarawickrama.

India, who have eight wins out of eight matches at the World Cup, will face New Zealand in the first semi-final at Mumbai on Wednesday.

Teams

India: Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wkt), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj

Netherlands: Max O'Dowd, Wesley Barresi, Colin Ackermann, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Scott Edwards (capt/wkt), Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Logan van Beek, Roelof van der Merwe, Aryan Dutt, Paul van Meekeren

(With agency inputs)