India made it two wins from two at the 2026 T20 World Cup with a comfortable 95-run victory over the Netherlands at Headingley on Wednesday. But the win was overshadowed a bit by an injury to off-spinner Shreyanka Patil, who twisted her right ankle after delivering the first ball of her spell in the sixth over. Unable to put weight on the leg, she received lengthy treatment before being stretchered off in a buggy.
Before the setback, though, Harmanpreet Kaur had said her side had to improve their powerplay performances with both bat and ball. The team responded emphatically.
The opening duo of Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma answered the call by putting on a 115-run opening stand. Mandhana set the tone from the outset, producing a series of trademark cover drives whenever the Dutch seamers overpitched. Heather Siegers, Iris Zwilling and Isabel van der Woning all struggled to find consistent lengths. The left-hander capitalised on the loose deliveries.
Shafali initially played second fiddle before finding her rhythm. Once she settled, the right-hander punished anything short, taking 12 runs off Van der Woning’s first over before accelerating after the field spread.
India reached 50 in just 5.1 overs and finished the powerplay at 59/0, precisely the kind of start Harmanpreet had sought at the toss. Only one over of spin was used during the powerplay, but it made little difference as the Netherlands failed to extract enough turn or variation to trouble either opener.
AS IT HAPPENED | INDIA VS NETHERLANDS WOMEN’S T20 WORLD CUP 2026 HIGHLIGHTS
Mandhana continued to be the more fluent of the pair through the middle overs, mixing her elegant drives with an assured sweep against leg-spinner Silver Siegers. Lacking pace and bowling too full or too short, the Dutch attack allowed India to score freely, with wides and extras compounding their problems.
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India were 96/0 after 10 overs, with the opening pair barely offering a chance. Shafali, having started more cautiously than Mandhana, shifted gears after the powerplay and brought up her maiden T20 World Cup fifty from 32 balls.
Smriti Mandhana slammed her second consecutive fifty in Women’s T20 World Cup 2026. (AP)
The partnership eventually ended at 115 in the 12th over when Heather Siegers finally broke through with a long hop that sat up invitingly. Shafali leaned back, looking to clear long-on but failed to middle the stroke, holing out to Iris Zwilling for a well-made 55 off 38 balls.
Mandhana maintained the tempo after Shafali’s departure, but just when it looked like she could get a hundred, she fell to Caroline de Lange in the 16th over for a 47-ball 74, adding 47 runs in just 26 balls with Jemimah Rodrigues for the second wicket.
Late cameos from Richa Ghosh and Deepti Sharma (10 off two balls) pushed India’s score beyond the 200-run mark.
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Nandni, Charani impress
With 209 runs in the bank, India were always in control, but it was Sree Charani who ensured the Netherlands never mounted a challenge. After picking up three wickets against Pakistan, the left-arm spinner produced another impressive spell of 4/19, making the most of the pressure created at the other end.
Nandni Sharma, making her T20 World Cup debut, had provided India the ideal start by dismissing Heather Siegers for 21 in the fifth over, before the ever-reliable Deepti Sharma removed Phebe Molkenboer in the eighth to leave the Netherlands at 50/2.
Shreyanka’s injury meant Shafali had to share the spin workload with Deepti and Charani. The move paid off as Shafali broke a developing stand between captain Babette de Leede and Sterre Kalis, reducing the Netherlands to 77/3.
With the spinners squeezing the middle overs, Harmanpreet turned back to her seamers, and Nandni struck again by removing De Leede for 28 to further tighten India’s grip on the contest.
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Joint-highest wicket-taker in the 2026 WPL with 17 scalps, Nandni was a fan of Bhuvneshwar Kumar growing up, and has earned her opportunity through her ability to swing the new ball at pace.
Charani finished with 4/19, while Shafali returned 3/20. On an evening overshadowed by Shreyanka’s injury, Shafali stepped up to help India comfortably close out the game.
Brief scores: India 209/5 in 20 overs (Smriti Mandhana 74, Shafali Verma 55, Richa Ghosh 20) beat Netherlands 114 all out in 17.3 overs (Babette de Leede 28; Sree Charani 4/19, Shafali Verma 3/20) by 95 runs.
