India managed to somehow get to a huge total against the Netherlands in their final and fourth group stage fixture of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. The Men in Blue struggled during the middle overs and it seemed as if they wouldn’t get to a defendable total until Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube saved the day for India. Shivam Dube scored 66 off 31 balls, taking team India's total to 193 runs in 20 overs against Netherlands. 

It’s not been an ideal performance from the top order of a team that is expected to defend its crown. It seems like the Indian top order came unprepared for the questions that the opposition bowlers were asking because they looked clueless. Abhishek Sharma was the first one to depart and then the wickets kept on falling.

Sharma went out for a third consecutive duck and is yet to open his account at the World Cup. Ishan Kishan was the second to follow suit as Aryan Dutt doubled his tally and sent the openers back to the dugout. India’s top order consists of only stars, but not big scores. The players failed to live up to big names and reputation against an associate nation.

 

Tilak Varma is another player who has been very disappointing to watch so far. He hasn’t been able to accelerate his innings and has given away his wicket every time he has tried to do so. Varma is playing test cricket in a T20 World Cup and his performances have come back to haunt the Indian middle order multiple times. 

 

Fans have raised questions about the intent of Indian players who are not going all out against the Netherlands. Some users have also labeled this performance as a ‘reality check’ and India’s batting lineup to be ‘too overrated’. The players were seen to be struggling against the off spinners in Ahmedabad raising concerns about India’s batting credibility ahead of the Super 8.