India’s world number one T20 batter Abhishek Sharma was out for a third consecutive duck at the World Cup but the hosts maintained their unbeaten tournament record with a 17-run victory over the Netherlands in Ahmedabad.
With Super 8s qualification already secured, India chose to bat first after winning the toss but their openers were stifled by the Netherlands’ bowlers in the early overs.
Sharma faced just three balls before being dismissed by a back of the length delivery from Aryan Dutt, becoming the first batter in history to record three ducks in their first three innings of a T20 World Cup. He has five ducks in the calendar year.
But inspired batting further down the order saw India post an imposing 193-6, thanks to Shivam Dube’s blistering 66 off 31 which featured four fours and six sixes.
Dube was backed up by Tilak Varma (31), Suryakumar Yadav (34) and Hardik Pandya (30). Aryan Dutt and Logan van Beek did attempt to slow down India’s hard-hitting batters, picking up five wickets between them.
Having been knocked out of the competition after Pakistan’s win over Namibia earlier in the day, the chase looked out of the Netherlands’ reach from the outset.
Opening batters Michael Levitt and Max O’Dowd found it hard to get going as India spin bowler Varun Chakravarthy claimed a clinical 3-14 off his three overs.
Chakravarthy claimed revenge on behalf of team-mate Sharma by dismissing Dutt for a duck of his own, leaving the Netherlands 94-4 inside 13 overs.
Zach Lion-Cachet and Noah Croes hit some late boundaries but never threatened to overhaul the target, meaning India end Group A with an unblemished record of four wins from four matches.
