India finish group stage with 9th straight win at Cricket World Cup

BENGALURU, India, Nov 12, (AP): Shreyas Iyer and Lokesh Rahul scored attacking hundreds to help India make it nine wins in nine games with a 160-run victory over the Netherlands in the final group-stage match at the Cricket World Cup on Sunday. Iyer hit his first World Cup century, scoring 128 not out off 94 balls, while Rahul smashed the fastest Indian hundred at a World Cup, as India piled on the runs at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. The pair put on 208 runs off 21 overs for the fourth wicket. Rahul scored 100 off 62 balls, beating Rohit Sharma’s 63-ball record against Afghanistan in Delhi earlier in this tournament.

In all, the two-time champions had five batters scoring 50-plus in their innings, and finished with 410-4 in 50 overs, the fifth-highest World Cup total. Rohit Sharma (61) and Shubman Gil (51) put on 100 for the first wicket. Virat Kohli was out for 51. Jasprit Bumrah (2-33) and Mohammed Siraj (2-29) shared four wickets as the Dutch were dismissed for 250 in 47.5 overs.

India advanced to the semifinals with a perfect 18 points from nine wins. They will play fourth-place New Zealand in the first semifinal in Mumbai on Wednesday. Second-place South Africa will play third-place Australia in the second semifinal at Kolkata the following day. The Netherlands finished 10th in the standings, despite their two upset wins against South Africa and Bangladesh. India was unchanged from its previous game against South Africa in Kolkata, which they won by a huge 243 runs. The Netherlands also fielded an unchanged team from their previous game against England in Pune, which they also lost by 160 runs.