Openers, spinners set up India's commanding win over Netherlands

India backed up their win over Pakistan with a commanding performance against the Netherlands in their second T20 World Cup fixture, breezing to a 95-run win in Leeds on Wednesday (June 17). The result took India to the top of Group A, marginally above Australia on net run-rate, with the victory set up by their openers and a collective bowling and fielding display.

Asked to bat under overcast skies, India began positively with the bat as Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana set the tone with a regular flow of boundaries in the Powerplay. Shafali cleverly dabbed her first ball to the fence while both openers put away Heather Siegers' loopy deliveries, peeling off three fours in the second over.

They married lofted shots with immaculate placement to find the gaps, latching onto anything loose from the bowlers, who were guilty of bowling too wide and erred in their length as well. While India went past fifty one delivery into the fifth over, they could only finish on 59 by the end of the Powerplay despite Myrthe van der Raad completely losing her radar as she sent down six wides in the sixth over.

Post the Powerplay, Netherlands continued to struggle for control although the batters missed out on converting a few hittable deliveries into boundaries. Shafali wasn't to be kept quiet though, as she continued to pick out the boundary before raising her first T20 World Cup fifty in her 16th innings in the competition's history. Netherlands' catching did not help their cause - in fact, Shafali was dropped on 49 as she got to her milestone off the same delivery.

Mandhana soon switched gears, stepping out consistently like she did against Pakistan. She also brought up the first six of the innings, launching Heather Siegers over long off. The offie managed to break the partnership of 115 though as Shafali found long on while attempting a short-arm loft off a short ball. Jemimah Rodrigues began with a boundary, while Mandhana continued to dictate terms with her nimble footwork, notching up another half-century before displaying her full range as she took on Silver Siegers for four consecutive fours.

Ironically, Mandhana fell to a miscued shot having stepped out to legspinner Caroline de Lange, who comfortably emerged as the pick of the Netherlands' bowlers. Rodrigues then fell to the scoop as she was strangled down leg, before de Lange had Yastika Bhatia, who replaced Bharti Fulmali in the XI, stumped by a mile. That brief lull threatened to stall India's charge past 200 but Richa Ghosh made Netherlands pay for a dropped catch with a breezy unbeaten 20-run cameo.

Captain Harmanpreet Kaur was also dropped in the final over but she fell two deliveries later. Deepti Sharma faced two deliveries, slamming a six and a four to take India to 209, marking their highest total in the competition's history.

Netherlands had a daunting chase on hand and began steadily, with Heather Siegers attempting multiple attacking shots through the leg-side. Interestingly, Harmanpreet introduced Shafali in the fourth over and Netherlands picked up a couple of boundaries as Phebe Molkenboer broke the shackles with a glorious cover drive. A change of ends worked for Nandni Sharma as she picked up the first wicket, with Siegers smashing a wide delivery to extra cover.

India were struck a big blow in the sixth over when Shreyanka Patil twisted her ankle while trying to stop the ball off a misfield by her colleague. She was in visible pain and had to be stretchered off, before Shafali completed the over as Netherlands ended the Powerplay on 39/1.

Captain Babette de Leede struck a couple of boundaries but Deepti picked up from where she left off against Pakistan, removing Molkenboer for a 20-ball 15. And while Sterre Kalis unleashed a couple of delectable cuts off Deepti and an expertly placed dab off Kranti Gaud, Netherlands had a lot of ground to cover in the second half.

Kalis was undone by a Shafali delivery that drifted away before going straight on, the batter guilty of playing far inside the line. De Leede was dismissed by a clever piece of bowling by Nandni, who dragged her length short upon spotting the batter stepping out to have her stumped. The batters then went through the motions as the spinners - Shree Charani in particular - displayed excellent control. Charani picked up four wickets, finding herself on a hat-trick before picking up a third in the 17th over. Throughout her spell, she kept things simple while getting the ball to turn just enough to outfox the batters.

The procession continued and Shafali bagged two more wickets as Netherlands were bundled out for 114. The Dutch lost their last five wickets for a solitary run, summing up the gulf between the two sides while India also enjoyed a largely spotless day on the park, with Charani's dropped catch to hand de Leede a lifeline the only blemish.

Brief Scores: India 209/5 in 20 overs (Smriti Mandhana 74, Shafali Verma 55; Caroline de Lange 2-32) beat Netherlands 114 all out in 17.3 overs (Babette de Leede 28; Shree Charani 4-19, Shafali Verma 3-20, Nandni Sharma 2-22) by 95 runs.