The momentum decisively shifted in India’s favor during the sixth over of the T20 World Cup 2026 game against Netherlands when Varun Chakravarthy bowled a delivery that set the Narendra Modi Stadium on fire.
Varun Chakraborty’sends a delivery cracker Max O’Dowd‘s leg stump is flying
Facing the dangerous Max O’Dowd, who had recently broken the shackles with a six off Washington Sundar, Chakravarthy bowled a deceptive, skidding googly that completely baffled the batsman. O’Dowd completely misjudged the length and trajectory, attempting a forceful cross-batting heave down the leg side.
The ball came back sharply, crossed the gap between bat and pad and went straight into the leg stump, dislodging it in spectacular fashion. The sight of the woodwork flying provided the breakthrough that India desperately needed, ending O’Dowd’s stand at 20 and breaking a steady opening partnership. Chakravarthy’s immediate impact in his first over, conceding just three runs and taking one wicket, once again proved why he is India’s “X-factor” spinner heading into the Super 8s.
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Shivam Dubey’s brutal attack revives Indian innings against Netherlands
The story of the Indian innings was completely written by Shivam Dubey, who scored 66 runs in just 31 balls to take India to a huge score. Entering the field at a time when the scoring rate had dropped after the dismissal of Suryakumar Yadav, Dubey blasted six powerful sixes which left the Dutch bowlers without answers.
He found an ideal partner in Hardik Pandya, who scored 30 runs, and together they stitched a 76-run partnership that demolished the Netherlands’ death overs strategy. Dube was particularly brutal against Logan van Beek and Roelof van der Merwe, hitting straight boundaries at full strength and bringing up his half-century in just 25 balls. Even though he fell attempting another big hit on the second ball of the final over, the damage was already done, as India successfully converted a dangerous score of 110/4 into 193 runs.
His performance was a stark contrast to the top-order struggles, where Abhishek Sharma unfortunately equaled the record for most dismissals by an Indian in T20 World Cup history after being out for a duck on three balls. A late innings surge ensured that India scored 75 runs in the last five overs, an achievement later described by Tilak Verma as “brilliant” and “well beyond” the opening target of 180. Netherlands’ response has been a struggle for survival against a world-class Indian attack, as they reached 91/3 after 12 overs, still needing 103 runs from just 48 balls.
