Shafali Verma produced a decisive all-round performance as India beat Netherlands by 95 runs in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026, making 209 for 5 before bowling Netherlands out for 114 in overcast Headingley conditions.
Shafali scored her first fifty at a T20 World Cup and later returned figures of 3 for 20, while Smriti Mandhana top-scored with a 47-ball 74 in India’s highest-ever total at a T20 World Cup. The win was India’s second in a row and took them to the top of Group 1 on net run-rate, ahead of Australia. Netherlands, meanwhile, stayed winless.
Mandhana and Shafali set up India’s record total
Put in to bat, India’s openers took control early through a 115-run partnership that combined low-risk placement with relentless scoring. While the pair largely kept their shots grounded through the 11.4 overs they batted together, the scoreboard still moved at close to ten an over.
Netherlands did not help themselves. Their bowlers frequently missed their lengths and lines, and the innings included a 12-ball over from Myrthe van den Raad that featured seven runs in extras. In total, Netherlands conceded 16 extras, allowing India to keep pace even when boundaries were not flowing freely.
Shafali then began to lift the tempo by taking the aerial route. She brought up a 34-ball fifty—her first in a T20 World Cup, six years after her debut in the tournament—before departing soon after in the 12th over, holing out to long-on when she mistimed a pull off Heather Siegers.
Netherlands briefly found a foothold as Caroline de Lange removed Mandhana at the end of the 16th over and van den Raad dismissed Jemimah Rodrigues early in the 17th. At that stage, India were 162 for 3, but the final stretch swung heavily India’s way due to a costly fielding slide.
Netherlands dropped three chances and missed a run-out opportunity in the closing overs. Richa Ghosh was put down in the 17th over when Phebe Molkonboer shelled a catch near the stumps, and Netherlands also failed to take a run-out chance at the non-striker’s end on the same ball with no fielder backing up. Silver Siegers then dropped Ghosh in the 18th over, the ball bursting through her hands and running away for four, before Harmanpreet Kaur was also put down in the final over by Robine Rijke at mid-off.
Ghosh made Netherlands pay, finishing unbeaten on 20 off eight balls as India surged through the end of the innings. India plundered 41 runs across the last three overs to finish on 209 for 5, with de Lange ending as Netherlands’ most successful bowler with 2 for 32.
Charani and Shafali finish the job as Netherlands fade late
Netherlands began their chase with intent. Heather Siegers struck four fours in a 16-ball 21, driving through the ‘V’ and showing a willingness to take on the bowling. But India’s spinners tightened their grip on a surface that stayed low and slow in the second innings, steadily squeezing the scoring and forcing riskier options.
Molkonboer, the other opener, showed moments of timing but struggled to pierce a packed covers region and was out for 15 off 20 in the eighth over, leaving Netherlands scoring at roughly a run a ball with the required rate climbing quickly.
India’s control with spin was underlined by Shree Charani’s 4 for 19 and Shafali’s 3 for 20. Netherlands continued to attack even as the chase drifted out of reach, but wickets fell in clusters. Captain Babette de Leede was stumped well out of her ground while trying to loft Nandani Sharma, and Sterre Kalis was bowled swinging across the line against Shafali’s slower deliveries.
Charani then ran through the middle and lower order: Frederique Overdijk holed out to long-on, Rijke was trapped lbw attempting an extravagant sweep, and Iris Zwilling fell trying to slog-sweep, handing Charani her fourth wicket.
Netherlands’ innings ended in a sharp collapse, losing their last five wickets for one run in nine deliveries. With one wicket left, Shafali had the ball in hand when Isabel van der Woning looked to hit down the ground, only for Rodrigues to run in from long-on and complete the catch.
What the result means in Group 1
India’s 95-run win not only extended their unbeaten start to two matches but also lifted them to the top of Group 1 on net run-rate. Netherlands, who had come into the game after a close final-over finish against Bangladesh, were unable to replicate that competitiveness here and remain without a win.