Ahmedabad, February 18 — India maintained their stranglehold at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 with a win by 17 runs over Netherlands in the36th match of the event. The co-hosts made a commanding total and then had the nerve to successfully defend it in front of an 86,000-strong crowd in Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium.

Choosing to bat, India were off to a wobbly start as opener Abhishek Sharma registered his third duck on the trot. But India’s middle order did a great job to regain its composure after the early shock. Skipper Suryakumar Yadav (34) was the steady anchor while Tilak Varma (31) and Hardik Pandya (30) struck important after restricting cameos to keep things on course.

But the innings belonged to Shivam Dube, who provided the spine of India’s total with a sizzling 66 off 31 balls. Dube’s innings was a mix of power and controlled aggression as India managed a competitive 193 for 6 in their 20 overs. His late onslaught — his real attack was essentially between overs 15 to 19 — helped India recover from a sluggish start and piece together a dash when it mattered most.

In response, the Netherlands were doughty in pursuit, their batters all contributing. Their innings was spearheaded by Bas de Leede’s 33, looking to carry the game deep; young players, such as Noah Croes (25) and Zach Lion-Cachet (26), played with intent. But with India’s bowlers maintaining pressure, the asking rate always looked beyond reach in their chase.

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India’s bowling was led by wrist spinner Varun Chakravarthy, whose outstanding figures of 3-14 turned the momentum in India’s favour. He landed significant blows at important times, jarring partnerships and containing the Dutch batters. Dube built on his fine all-round show by taking two wickets, including that of de Leede to dent Netherlands’ hopes. India fast bowlers, too kept it tight and shared the burden among themselves so that their opponents could not surge beyond 176/7 in their 20 overs.

The triumph not only secured India’s place atop Group A, but also added to their winning streak in T20 World Cup matches, a clean sweep this year. That made it four wins from four, and so they go into the Super Eight stage of the competition with their tails up and full of self-belief; the harder tests are yet to come.

The Netherlands, whose tournament was over before the game even began, also demonstrated fighting spirit and some food for thought in playing it really close against a superior rival. But on a night when India would not let go, the hosts’ mix of firepower, depth and discipline won out once more.

And as India turns its attention to the next stage, it will be working on a recipe for edge balancing with commitment and fans all over the cricketing globe cheering for it to clinch the T20 World Cup title.

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