India vs Netherlands, ICC T20 World Cup 2026: Varun Chakravarthy was named the 'Impact Player of the Match' in the Indian dressing room after the team's 17-run victory against the Netherlands in match 36 of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, February 18. India maintained their winning streak in the tournament, ending the group stage on a high.
Chakravarthy continued his impressive form and produced a match-winning effort of three wickets for just 14 runs in his three overs as India restricted the Netherlands to 176/7 in their 20 overs. The star spinner is India's leading wicket-taker with nine wickets to his name in four games at an average of 6.89.
Team India’s strength and conditioning coach, Adrian Le Roux, presented Chakaravarthy with the medal in the dressing room. Reflecting on the performance, the spinner said, "Asli tournament next match se chalu ho raha hain. Toh uske liye ready hona hain (The real tournament starts with the next match. We have to get ready for that). Dogfight is very important. "
Chakravarthy took the wickets of Max O’Dowd and Colin Ackermann before removing Aryan Dutt for a golden duck. The 34-year-old has been a consistent performer for India in white-ball cricket since making his return to the side. He is currently the no.1 T20I bowler in the world and also helped India lift the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 title.
Earlier in the match against the Netherlands, India opted to bat first and posted a massive total of 193/6 in their 20 overs on the back of a fiery 60-run knock from Shivam Dube in just 31 balls. He smashed four boundaries and six sixes. While Abhishek Sharma is yet to open his account in the tournament, the skipper Suryakumar Yadav (34), Tilak Varma (31), and Hardik Pandya (30) came up with the impactful efforts.
Apart from Chakravarthy, Shivam Dube took two wickets, while Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik found a scalp each. The Men in Blue will kick off their Super 8 campaign with the match against South Africa in Ahmedabad on Sunday.