India started their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 campaign with a dominating win over Pakistan. They will hope to maintain the momentum with a win against the newcomers, the Netherlands, before the relatively difficult matches against South Africa, Bangladesh, and Australia. In a tough group, a win is necessary for India as any slip-up could result in an early elimination in the group stage. Their bowlers, especially the spin trio of Deepti Sharma, Shree Charani, and Shreyanka Patil, had an outstanding outing against Pakistan to choke them during the chase. However, in batting, they would expect more holistic contributions rather than relying on just one or two batters, such as Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur.
Netherlands had a spirited campaign in their debut T20 World Cup match against Bangladesh. However, except for their captain, Babette de Leede, who scored a fifty, no other batter could cross 16, and regular wickets pegged them back. Against India, they will hope to build some partnership while batting to put pressure on the opposition. They also have a couple of good leg break bowlers in Caroline de Lange and Silver Siegers, who shared three of the four Bangladesh wickets to fall. It will be a good test for them against India with batters who are more comfortable in playing spin.
This will be the first Women’s T20I game between these two teams and the first international match in 26 years.
Recent Form (Latest first)
India: W, L, L, W, L
Netherlands: L, L, L, W, L
Conditions
Leeds is expected to be a high-scoring venue, and the captain may prefer to bat first after winning the toss. However, with morning rain in the forecast, a damp outfield and persistent overcast conditions into the afternoon could tempt captains to bowl first and exploit early moisture.
Players to watch out for
Jemimah Rodrigues: Rodrigues has lots of experience playing in these conditions as part of the Northern Superchargers, the Headingley-based franchise in the Hundred. She had a magical hundred scored during the semi-final of India’s triumphant campaign in the ODI World Cup. A return to form for Jemimah Rodrigues can change the shape of India’s batting instantly, injecting the elite spark needed for the international matches.
Babette de Leede: The captain Babette de Leede, cousin of the well-known all-rounder Bas de Leede, is going to play her 99th match against the Indians. As wicketkeeper of the team, and with eight fifties to her name with the bat already, she is the main force driving this team. She would hope to play her shots and deliver a strong performance against a top nation, putting them on the back foot.
Injury Updates
No injury concerns for both teams.
From the camps:
“I saw them before the World Cup – in the Pakistan match. I saw their games. They have good bowlers and for them it’s the first time, right? So they’re doing really well and every team is like— they can do well and I think they’ve done really well. That’s why they’re here and we are not taking any team easily and we’re just looking forward,” said Richa Ghosh. She further added, “I think it’s always a start where it always gives you a confidence, and we are taking forwards like one game at a time. So I will take the confidence from the first game to the second game, and we will looking forward to like one game at one time.”
Predicted XI’s
India: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Bharti Fulmali, Richa Ghosh, Deepti Sharma, Shreyanka Patil, Arundhati Reddy, Kranti Gaud, Shree Charani
Netherlands: Heather Siegers, Phebe Molkenboer, Babette de Leede (C), Sterre Kalis, Robine Rijke, Sanya Khurana, Frederique Overdijk, Iris Zwilling, Caroline de Lange, Silver Siegers, Isabel van der Woning
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