T20 WC 2026: Varun Chakaravarthy earns Impact Player Award in dressing room after India's win over Netherlands
Ahmedabad, February 19
India's mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy earned the Impact Player award in the Indian dressing room for his impactful bowling spell of 3/14 in three overs during the India vs Netherlands T20 World Cup 2026 group-stage match.
India won the match by 17 runs at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.
Against the Netherlands, Chakaravarthy claimed the wickets of Max O'Dowd, Colin Ackermann and dismissed Aryan Dutt for a golden duck, helping India restrict the Netherlands at 176/7 in 20 overs, 17 runs short of India's target of 194 runs.
Adrian Le Roux, Team India's strength and conditioning coach, presented Varun Chakaravarthy with the medal. After winning the medal, the Indian spinner said, "The real tournament starts with the next match. We have to get ready for that."
Notably, with the win over the Netherlands, India made it four wins in four matches in the group stage and heads into the Super Eight with winning momentum. The Netherlands bow out of the tournament with a win and three losses, two of them being close losses against India and Pakistan.
Coming to the match, India won the toss and elected to bat first. They lost Abhishek Sharma (0) and Ishan Kishan (18) early, while Tilak Varma (31 in 27 balls, with three fours and a six) and Suryakumar (34 in 28 balls, with two fours and a six) struggled to play freely. It was Shivam Dube's 66 (with four boundaries and six sixes) and Hardik Pandya's (30 in 21 balls, with three sixes) that took India to 193/5 in 20 overs.
After the Netherlands sank to 51/2, Bas de Leede (33 in 23 balls, with three fours and a six) and Colin Ackermann (23 in 15 balls, with a four and two sixes) had a 43-run stand, but India got back in the game soon. Towards the end, Zach Lion-Cachet (26 in 16 balls, with a four and six) and Noah Croes (25* in 12 balls, with five fours) stitched a 47-run stand, taking Netherlands to 176/7, a valiant finish against the defending champions.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Great win, but the top order collapse is a bit worrying. We can't rely on Dube and Pandya to bail us out every time. Need Rohit and Kohli (when they play) to give solid starts in the knockouts.
So proud of Varun! From being an engineer to a mystery spinner for India, his journey is inspirational. That googly to get the golden duck was pure class. Well-deserved award in the dressing room! 👏
Netherlands fought well, credit to them. But our bowling attack looks complete. Bumrah with the new ball, Varun in the middle, and Arshdeep at the death. Feeling confident for the bigger matches ahead!
Love his humble attitude. "The real tournament starts with the next match" – that's the mindset we need. No celebrating the group stage too much. Focus is on the trophy! 🏆
Good performance, but the fielding could have been sharper. A couple of dropped chances in the deep. In a close knockout game, those will cost us. Need to tighten up.
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