India made it two wins from two at the 2026 T20 World Cup with a comfortable 95-run victory over the Netherlands at Headingley on Wednesday. But the win was overshadowed a bit by an injury to off-spinner Shreyanka Patil, who twisted her right ankle after delivering the first ball of her spell in the sixth over. Unable to put weight on the leg, she received lengthy treatment before being stretchered off in a buggy.
Before the setback, though, Harmanpreet Kaur had said her side had to improve their powerplay performances with both bat and ball. The team responded emphatically.
The opening duo of Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma answered the call by putting on a 115-run opening stand. Mandhana set the tone from the outset, producing a series of trademark cover drives whenever the Dutch seamers overpitched. Heather Siegers, Iris Zwilling and Isabel van der Woning all struggled to find consistent lengths. The left-hander capitalised on the loose deliveries.
Shafali initially played second fiddle before finding her rhythm. Once she settled, the right-hander punished anything short, taking 12 runs off Van der Woning’s first over before accelerating after the field spread.
India reached 50 in just 5.1 overs and finished the powerplay at 59/0, precisely the kind of start Harmanpreet had sought at the toss. Only one over of spin was used during the powerplay, but it made little difference as the Netherlands failed to extract enough turn or variation to trouble either opener.
Mandhana continued to be the more fluent of the pair through the middle overs, mixing her elegant drives with an assured sweep against leg-spinner Silver Siegers. Lacking pace and bowling too full or too short, the Dutch attack allowed India to score freely, with wides and extras compounding their problems.
India were 96/0 after 10 overs, with the opening pair barely offering a chance. Shafali, having started more cautiously than Mandhana, shifted gears after the powerplay and brought up her maiden T20 World Cup fifty from 32 balls.