India absolutely crushed the Netherlands by 95 runs in Match 10 of the Women’s T20 World Cup at Headingley on Wednesday. The Indian top order punished wayward bowling under overcast skies in Leeds, piling up a mammoth 209 for 5 before dismantling the Dutch lineup for just 114.
Smriti Mandhana took home Player of the Match honors after smashing a commanding 74 off 47 deliveries. She built a huge 115-run opening stand with Shafali Verma, who fired 55 off 38 balls to put the game out of reach early.
The Netherlands won the toss and elected to field, hoping the cloudy English conditions would generate some early swing. That plan backfired almost immediately. India attacked from the first over, punishing the debutants. This performance established India’s historic 209/5 tournament-high total and marked the first T20I meeting between the two nations.
Verma did not just dominate with the bat. She returned in the second innings to deliver an exceptional all-around performance, taking three wickets for 20 runs. Her teammate Sree Charani then ripped through the Dutch middle order, finishing with outstanding figures of 4-19 as the Netherlands were bowled out in 17.3 overs. Fans who missed the live broadcast can catch the official match highlights video from the ICC for the India vs. Netherlands game in Leeds.
Despite the lopsided scorecard, the Dutch squad found a few bright spots. Captain Babette de Leede top-scored for her side with a resilient 28 runs. Bowler Heather Siegers also etched her name into the history books, claiming the Netherlands’ first-ever T20I boundary against India and picking up their first-ever wicket against the powerhouse nation by dismissing Verma.
The heavy 95-run victory margin resulted in India moving ahead of Australia to the top of the group table on net run rate.