India ends league stage with 17-run win over Netherlands
Ahmedabad: At the vast Narendra Modi Stadium, with 68,510 spectators filling the stands in blue, India secured a 17-run victory over the Netherlands, defending 193 for 6 to restrict the chase to 176 for 7.
It was a result that strengthened their position in the tournament, yet the manner of the win once again highlighted a team still searching for complete control across both innings.
India’s batting followed a pattern that is fast becoming a theme. Abhishek Sharma fell for a third consecutive duck, bowled by Aryan Dutt in the opening over, leaving India 0 for 1 and immediately on the back foot.
The early setback forced another repair job. Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma attempted to restore momentum, while Suryakumar Yadav added fluency through the middle overs, but wickets at regular intervals prevented the innings from settling.
At 110 for 4 in the 14th over, India were again in need of a finish rather than building toward one.
It arrived through Shivam Dube, whose 66 off 31 balls provided the acceleration India had lacked, and Hardik Pandya, who supported with a powerful late cameo.
Their partnership lifted India to a competitive 193, but it was a total constructed through recovery rather than command.
The Netherlands began their chase brightly, with Michael Levitt and Max O’Dowd attacking the new ball and taking the score past 50 inside eight overs.
India’s bowlers, however, pulled the game back through persistence.
Varun Chakravarthy struck key blows, including a double wicket burst that removed Colin Ackermann and Aryan Dutt, while Jasprit Bumrah and Pandya chipped in with crucial breakthroughs.
Even so, the Netherlands continued to push. Bas de Leede and the lower order mounted a spirited late counterattack, scoring freely in the closing overs and briefly testing India’s death bowling.
The penultimate over alone yielded 18 runs, underlining that India’s control with the ball is still being hard-earned rather than imposed.
Ultimately, wickets at key moments ensured the target remained out of reach, but the chase’s competitiveness told its own story.
India’s bowlers delivered with discipline and effort, yet they were required to work throughout, reflecting the slight inefficiencies in the total they were defending.
As India look ahead to the Super 8 stage, where stronger opposition awaits, the lessons from this match are clear.
The repeated early loss of wickets is placing pressure on the middle order, the middle overs are drifting without clear intent, and the finishers are repeatedly tasked with rescuing innings rather than finishing dominant ones.
India leave Ahmedabad with another win, but also with a template that remains uneven. Against sides of greater quality, such patchwork may not be enough.
