India cruise past Netherlands to maintain perfect record at T20 World Cup

Feb 18 : India beat the Netherlands by 17 runs in their final Twenty20 World Cup Group A match on Wednesday in Ahmedabad as the co-hosts and defending champions maintained their perfect record heading into the Super Eight stage.

After winning the toss and opting to bat, India posted 193-6 on the back of Shivam Dube's 66 off 31 balls in the middle order while Logan van Beek finished with figures of 3-56.

In response, the already-eliminated Dutch side managed only 176-7 after Varun Chakravarthy picked up three wickets for just 14 runs.

India had a nightmare start in the first over when Abhishek Sharma - the world's number one ranked batter - fell for a third consecutive duck in the tournament after he was bowled by spinner Aryan Dutt.

Fellow opener Ishan Kishan (18) also fell victim to Dutt in bizarre fashion when he attempted to play the pull shot but failed to connect as the ball came off his arm and rolled into the stumps to dislodge a bail.

India's troubles deepened when Tilak Varma (31) departed courtesy of a stunning diving catch in the deep by 41-year-old Roelof van der Merwe, while Suryakumar Yadav's dismissal for 34 left the defending champions wobbling at 110-4.

Yet Dube entered the fray and unleashed a barrage of boundaries with four fours and six sixes in his match-defining knock, supported by Hardik Pandya's quickfire 30 in the death overs to propel India to their imposing total.

The Netherlands started their chase sluggishly as India bowled numerous dot balls.

As the required run rate mounted, Chakravarthy provided the breakthrough in the powerplay by uprooting Max O'Dowd's leg stump before Pandya had Michael Levitt caught in the deep.

Chakravarthy was on a hat-trick after dismissing Colin Ackermann and Dutt, while