Hardik Pandya, left, celebrates with captain Suryakumar Yadav for the wicket of Michael Levitt of the Netherlands during the T20 World Cup cricket match between India and the Netherlands in Ahmedabad, India, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo) TimesofIndia.com in Ahmedabad: It has been four matches and four wins, but India are yet to produce a complete performance with the bat in the ongoing T20 World Cup. Unlike the starters served at the bilateral tournament that preceded the multi-nation tournament, the main course fell far short of expectations. The men in blue have had various heroes to rescue them from precarious situations in all four games, but it could be a tight spot at the Super 8 stage. Suryakumar Yadav vs USA, Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya vs Namibia, Ishan again vs Pakistan and now the firepower of Shivam Dube at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.The opener was the biggest concern as world number one T20I batsman Abhishek Sharma is yet to make his mark in the tournament. This exposed Tilak Varma early and his new-found obsession with farming the strike without showing any intent drained the momentum from the innings. Surya’s circumspect start has further allowed the opposition to apply a chokehold in the middle overs, meaning the lower order does most of the heavy lifting.Ishan was India’s primary aggressor, but after he departed in the fifth over of the innings, the Netherlands gained significant control when Tilak combined with Surya in the middle overs. Together, the duo faced 28 deliveries and scored just 30 runs. The Indian skipper had an early reprieve and his fluency was far from ideal against an attack that stuck to their plans and was very disciplined in front of a big crowd.The boundaries dried up and a sense of desperation crept in, prompting immediate movement. Tilak was back after scoring 31 off 27 and Surya found the fielder in the deep end with his knock on 34 off 28 balls. When the runs dried up, gladiator Dube took matters into his own hands and was impeccable with his shot selection. The opposition cautiously tried to soften the tempo but Dube failed to fall into the trap. He seemed to read it well and his approach was not premeditated. The ball was hit where it should have been and there were no half measures.With six sixes and four boundaries, he injected much-needed urgency into the innings, and even when Hardik went for a run-a-ball at the other end, Dube’s approach kept India on course for a big total. The partnership between the two raced to 76 off just 35 balls, affecting the damage significantly due to the caution shown by the earlier right-arm pair of Surya and Tilak in the innings.Chasing down 194 runs on a pitch that offered something for the bowlers was always going to be a daunting task for the Netherlands. They stood up well against the new ball pair of Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh but had no answer to Varun Chakravarthy. The mystery spinner, India’s trump card in the tournament, picked up three wickets in as many overs – two of them consecutive as the Dutch batsman looked clueless as he unpacked his bag of tricks.In their final group game, Surya used as many as seven bowlers – even leaving Abhishek Sharma – to ensure they were all warmed up for the big game against South Africa on February 22. Lower teams have exposed the frailty of India’s batsmen on several occasions in the last few weeks and the defending champions will want to sort it out before they get to the business end of the tournament.Gerhard Erasmus, Aryan Dutt, Salman Agha, Saim Ayub and Usman Tariq have given enough impetus to the teams that will face India in the Super 8. Aiden Markram (South Africa), Roston Chase (West Indies) and Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe) will be eagerly waiting for Surya & Co.A brief scoreIndia 193/6 in 20 overs (Shivam Dube 66, Suryakumar Yadav 34; Logan van Beek 3/56, Aryan Dutt 2/19)Netherlands 176/7 in 20 overs (Bas de Leede 33, Zach Lion-Cachet 26; Varun Chakravarthy 3/14, Shivam Dube 35/2)
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