Leeds, June 17: India has claimed its second consecutive victory in the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026. The ‘Women in Blue’ triumphed over the Netherlands by 95 runs at Headingley on Wednesday. This win marks India’s largest victory margin in the Women’s World Cup history.
Previously, India secured an 82-run win against Sri Lanka on October 9, 2024, and a 79-run victory over Bangladesh on March 30, 2014.
Batting first after losing the toss, the Indian team scored 209 runs for the loss of 5 wickets. Openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma provided a fantastic start, putting together a partnership of 115 runs off 70 balls.
Shafali scored 55 runs from 38 balls, hitting 10 fours before getting out. Mandhana then partnered with Jemimah Rodrigues for the second wicket, adding 47 runs off 26 balls. Mandhana finished with 74 runs off 47 balls, including 1 six and 11 fours.
India lost its second wicket on the last ball of the 16th over. By the 17.1 over mark, the team had lost four wickets at a score of 168. Richa Ghosh then joined captain Harmanpreet Kaur, and together they added 31 runs for the fifth wicket in just 15 balls, propelling the team to a formidable total.
Richa remained unbeaten on 20 runs from 8 balls, while captain Kaur contributed 12 runs. Deepti Sharma added 10 runs off 2 balls. For the Netherlands, Caroline de Lange took 2 wickets, while Iris Zwilling, Heather Siegers, and Marthé van den Raad each claimed 1 wicket.
Chasing the massive target, the Netherlands was bowled out for 114 runs in 17.3 overs. Heather Siegers and Phoebe Molkenboer opened the innings, adding 34 runs for the first wicket. Siegers scored 21 runs off 16 balls before getting out, and captain Babette de Leede tried to stabilize the innings with small partnerships.
The team lost its fourth wicket at a score of 96, with Babette returning for 28 runs off 27 balls. After that, wickets fell rapidly, leading to the team’s all-out at 114. For India, Shree Charani took 4 wickets for 19 runs, while Shafali Verma claimed 3 wickets for 20 runs. Nandini Sharma also took 2 wickets.
India had previously defeated Pakistan by 64 runs in their opening match. The Indian team will face South Africa on June 21.
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RSG
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