India defeat Netherlands by 17 runs to finish group stage on high note

AHMEDABAD: India ended the group stage of the T20 World Cup on a high note with a fourth consecutive win. India won the match against the Netherlands by 17 runs. Batting first, India scored 193 runs for the loss of six wickets in 20 overs. However, the underdogs Dutch put up a great fight to amass 176 for the loss of seven wickets in 20 overs. India advanced to the Super Eights without losing a single match and will face South Africa, Zimbabwe and the West Indies in the next round.

Chasing the target, the team Oranje could not challenge India at any stage. Openers Michael Levitt 24(23) and Maxa O'Dowd 20(18) gave a good start, but the run rate was low. Bas de Leede 33(23) and Colin Ackerman 23(15) cemented a good partnership but lost wickets while trying to increase the run rate. Indian-origin Aryan Dutt was out for a golden duck (0(1). Captain Scott Edwards was out for 15(10).

Varun Chakravarthy led the bowling attack for India with three wickets. Shivam Dube took two wickets while Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya took one wicket each.

Indian batting opening stumbled after Abhishek Sharma got dismissed for his third consecutive duck. The player was bowled clean by Dutch spinner Aryan Dutt after facing three balls. Dutt also dismissed Ishan Kishan, who scored 18 runs off 7 balls. Tilak Verma 31 (27) and captain Suryakumar Yadav 34 (28) struggled to find runs quickly. But Shivam Dube, who came to the crease at the fifth position, scored a brilliant half-century to take India to a good total.