India extended their winning streak at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 with a 17-run win over Netherlands in their final group stage match at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, on Wednesday.
Set to chase a daunting target of 194 runs, Netherlands could pile up 176/7 in their 20 overs despite a valiant effort from their batting unit.
Leede all-rounder Bas remained the top scorer with a 23-ball 33, followed by middle-order hitters Zach Lion-Cachet and Noah Croes, who made 26 and 25 not out.
Alongside them, Michael Levitt (24), Colin Ackermann (23) and Max O’Dowd (20) also scored in the twenties, but their efforts were not enough to earn the Netherlands victory.
Varun Chakravarthy spearheaded the Indian bowling charge with economical figures of 3/14 in his three overs, followed by Dube with two wickets, while Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah chipped in with a scalp each.
Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav’s decision to bat first paid off as the defending champions accumulated 193/6 in their 20 overs.
The home team, however, had a mixed start to the innings as top-ranked batter Abhishek Sharma once again took a duck, the victim of Aryan Dutt.
After the early stutter, in-form opener Ishan Kishan put on a 39-run partnership for the second wicket with Tilak Varma until Dutt struck again, dismissing the former, who made a seven-ball 18 with the help of two fours and a six.
Varma was then involved in another crucial partnership for India – a 30-run stand for the third wicket with captain Yadav – and returned in the ninth after scoring an anchor 31 runs from 27 deliveries.
With a scoreboard of 69/3 in nine overs, Dube came out to bat at No. 5 and took India to a commanding position with a blistering half-century.
Dube top-scored for the Men in Blue with a 31-ball 66, studded with six sixes and four fours and was adequately supported by captain Yadav and fellow all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who made 34 and 30 respectively.
For Netherlands, Logan van Beek picked up three wickets but was costly as he conceded 56 runs in his four overs. Alongside him, Dutt took two wickets, while Kyle Klein took a scalp.
The 17-run victory marked India’s fourth in a row in the ongoing 2026 T20 World Cup and saw the defending champions enter the Super Eights with dominant momentum.
