Women’s T20 WC: Smriti, Shafali, Charani shine as India crush Netherlands by 95 runs

In the lead-up to the ongoing ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, cricket pundits identified Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma as the key to India’s hopes of winning a second successive ICC title within six months.

On Wednesday, the opening duo justified the billing, putting the Netherlands under immense pressure with a blistering century partnership before Shafali later chipped in with the ball alongside left-arm spinner Shree Charani’s four-wicket haul to power India to a clinical 95-run victory at Headingley.

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With that win, India leapfrogged Australia to the top of Group A points table.

Coming off a convincing 64-run win over Pakistan in their tournament opener, India once again underlined their batting strength by posting an imposing 209/5. The platform was laid by Smriti and Shafali, who struck attacking half-centuries and added 115 runs for the opening wicket, setting the tone for another dominant performance in the tournament.

Chasing a daunting target, the Netherlands made a promising start but failed to build on it as Heather Siegers (21), Phebe Molkenboer (15), captain Babette de Leede (28) and Sterre Kalis (18) all got starts without converting them into substantial scores. Pacer Nandani Sharma broke the 34-run opening stand before India’s spin trio of Deepti Sharma, Shree Charani and part-time spinner Shafali Verma took control of proceedings.

Charani was the standout performer with the ball, ripping through the Dutch middle order in a match-turning spell. The left-arm spinner dismissed Frederique Overdijk, Iris Zwilling and Myrthe van den Raad in the same over and finished with excellent figures of 4/19. Shafali complemented her effort with 3/20, cleaning up the tail and claiming the final two wickets as the Netherlands were bundled out for 114 in just 17.3 overs.

Earlier, asked to bat first under overcast conditions, Smriti and Shafali took full advantage of some wayward Dutch bowling. Shafali was the early aggressor, racing to a 34-ball fifty before eventually departing for 55 off 38 deliveries, an innings that included a series of boundaries all around the ground.

Smriti continued her excellent form from the opening game against Pakistan and anchored the innings with a classy 74 off 47 balls. The stylish southpaw mixed elegant strokeplay with calculated aggression, bringing up her second successive half-century of the tournament. She dominated the middle overs, finding gaps with ease and regularly clearing the infield as India kept the scoring rate high.

India reached 59 without loss in the Powerplay and crossed the 100-run mark inside 11 overs, putting the Netherlands under immense pressure. The Dutch side struggled with discipline and also missed crucial opportunities in the field, including dropped catches and missed run-out chances, allowing India’s batters to capitalise.

After the dismissal of Shafali, Jemimah Rodrigues chipped in with some fluent boundaries, while Smriti continued to control proceedings before falling in the latter stages of the innings. The Netherlands managed to pull things back briefly with a cluster of wickets, removing Smriti, Jemimah Rodrigues (19) and Yastika Bhatia (3) in quick succession.

India, however, finished strongly with cameos from Harmanpreet Kaur, Richa Ghosh and Deepti Sharma. Richa smashed an unbeaten 20 with a six and a boundary, while Deepti struck a six and a four in the final over. Harmanpreet Kaur also contributed useful boundaries during the closing stages as India collected 19 runs off the final over to surge past the 200-run mark, recording their highest total of the tournament and putting themselves firmly in control at the halfway stage.

Injury scare for Shreyanka

India suffered an injury scare after star spinner Shreyanka Patil was forced off the field with a suspected ankle injury. The incident occurred in the fifth over of the Netherlands innings when Shreyanka appeared to twist her right ankle while fielding.

The 22-year-old immediately went down in pain and was seen clutching her ankle, unable to put any weight on the injured leg. Medical staff rushed onto the field and attended to her before strapping the affected ankle. However, Shreyanka was unable to continue and had to be carried off the field on a stretcher.

The extent of the injury is yet to be confirmed. India will be hoping the injury is not serious, with Shreyanka playing an important role in the side’s bowling attack as they look to build on their strong start to the World Cup when they take on South Africa in Manchester on Sunday.

Brief Scores: India 209/5 in 20 overs (Smriti Mandhana 74, Shafali Verma 55; Caroline de Lange 2-32, Heather Siegers 1-31) beat Netherlands 114 all out in 17.3 overs (Babette de Leede 28, Heather Siegers 21; Shree Charani 4/19, Shafali Verma 3/20, Nandani Sharma 2/22) by 95 runs.